Harry Potter and the Staff of Time
by Crazy Irish Lass
Summary: An old wizarding family thought to be dead, returns to England after many years of hideing in America. Harry Potter's sixth year will proove to be the most challenging yet. Please read & Review Also please read first four books by J.K. Rowling
1. Midnight Conversations

(A/N Harry Potter does not belong to me. It belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only things that belong to me are the plot, Savana, Alex, Gavin and Christina and Fiona Walker, everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling. Now read and enjoy!) 

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Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

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CHAPTER 1 

**Midnight Conversations**

Harry slept soundly in his dark room. He was thinking of all the things that had happend in the past two years. 

The dark lord, Voldemort, had returned and everyone in the wizard community realized that he was swiftly regaining his old power and soon it would be hard to stop him. 

Harry dreamt about his friends Ron and Hermione, and wondered how they might be doing. 

"_I hope they're okay_". He thought. With everything that had happend, he worried about his friends. He was afraid that Voldemort would hunt Ron and Hermione down and try to use them as weapons against Harry. So far, however, that had not happened. 

As Harry slipped deeper into sleep, he got a vision of a place he had never seen before. It did not look like it was even in Europe, but, somewhere else. The scenery was warm and tropical, with palm trees and exotic flora. He saw a large mansion, which appeared to be of antibellum design. It looked like it was built before the civil war in the United States. However, the vegetation surrounding the building wasn't typical of with the deep south. Part of Harry's mind wondered where it was. 

Harry found himself standing inside a large, dimly lit room where he saw three people standing by a fireplace. The fire, in the fireplace, appeared to be the only source of light. The three people appeared to be deeply involved in their conversation and it seemed to be of a very serious nature. 

The auburn haried woman, who looked to be in her late thirties spoke (with an English accent, Harry noticed). "....He's regaining power and gathering his followers. We need to consolidate our power and help Dumbledore and his forces. Which means, you must come out of hiding and return to England with me."

The man turned and the firelight caught his fair complexion and the red highlights in his dark hair. He also appeared to be in his late thirties, but, his face appeared haggerd, as though he had been living under great stress for a long time.

" You realise, Christina, the only reason that we're alive, is because Lord Voldemort believes us to be dead." He said softly. "If we do as you suggest, not only will our lives be in danger, but, Savana's and Alex's will be as well." 

"If Lord Voldemort and his followers continue to regain power, Savana and Alex will be in danger anyway. It's only a matter of time until his followers learn of the existance of you and your family. At least this way we can hide them at Hogwarts, where Albus Dumbledore can help protect them." Christina said. 

A second woman came into view. She appeared to be the same age as the other two adults, but, she had a petite build, long, raven black hair, olive skin, and startling violet eyes. Harry wondered who she was. 

"Gavin," she addressed the man, "I think since Savana is 16, we should discuss this with her." 

Harry noticed a human form in the shadows of the room, which began to walk forward toward the firelight. As she approached the group, he was better able to see what she looked like. She was about average height, 5'4", with long, thick, deep auburn hair, and appeared to be about his age. 

She looked at the other three people in the room. "Aunt Christina, why are you here, and why are you all meeting here so late at night?"

''Your aunt Christina is here to deliver some very disturbing news from England." Her father replyed." We think we're going to need to move back to England, for awhile at least. We have a very important job to do there, which could affect the fate of the wizard world."

"We wanted to get your opinion, as well as Alex's, before we make any decisions." Her mother interjected.

"Why are we moving to England?! I can't believe that we'd be that important to the outcome of anything." Savana exclaimed. 

" We need to explain some things, to both you and Alex." Christina said. " It's very complicated, so, we'd rather wait 'till Alex gets home tomorrow. That way, we only need to explain everything one time." 

"This is so, totally unfair!" Savana grumbled as she turned and left the room. Savana stopped for a moment, and turned back to face the adults. "Will I even get to say goodbye to my friends? When are we leaving, and where will I be going to school?"

"We'll discuss all that tomorrow." Gavin said. "Right now it's time to go to bed."

...'~*~'...

Harry awoke with a start. There was cold sweat running down his brow. "_What just happend_?" He thought. " _Was I dreaming or did that really happen? It all seemed so real_." Many questions began to run through his mind. " _Who were these people? Why were they coming to England, and what do they have to do with Voldemort_?"

He quickly got up and ran to his desk. He needed to write down as much of the dream as possible, before he forgot it. He also needed to ask Sirius and Ron if they might understand his dream any better than he did.

First he wrote to Ron telling him about the dream, but, he did not go into detail. Next he wrote to Sirius, but, he went into more detail this time. He also asked if Sirius might know, or be able to find out about, the meaning of the dream.

He tied the letters to Hedwig's leg and opened the window for her to fly through. Then he closed the window and went back to sleep.

This time, he slept soundly through until morning.


	2. A Shocking Discovery

(A/N Harry Potter and the associated characters, etc., belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. The only things that belong to me 

are the plot of this story, and the characters: Christina, Gavin, Fiona, Alex, and Savana Walker, as well as a few others.)

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

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CHAPTER 2

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A Shocking Discovery 

Sirius read Harry's letter over several times with a sense of disbelief. The Walkers may be alive! 

It was commonly believed in the wizarding community that the Dark Lord Voldemort had killed Gavin, Fiona, and Alex Walker during his last reign of terror. Harry's letter however, indicated that not only were they alive, but, had another child as well! Not only that, but, they were comming back to England to help in the struggle against Voldemort and his dark forces. 

He wondered how Harry could possibly have dreamed about these people, 

whom he couldn't know about, and if it could be real? There was only one way to find the answer to these questions, he had to go and see Albus Dumbledore. This was a dangerous thing to do, considering the fact that most of the wizarding community still considered Sirius to be an escaped convict.

(They did not realize he had been wrongly inprisoned at Azkaban for a crime which he did not commit.) 

...`~*~`...

"ALEX!" Savana cried, as she ran down the stairs. "You won't beleive what's happening! Aunt Christina is here! And we may be moving to England! I don't know all the details because they wouldn't tell me more until you got home!"

"What are you jabbering about?" He asked in confusion.

"Just, come with me." She said, pushing him into another room while calling for the adults.

Fiona and Gavin entered the room, followed by Christina.

"What's Savana so excited about and why are you moving to England?" Alex queried while reaching into his coat pocket which had begun moving. 

" What did you bring home this time?" Fiona asked while backing toward the door.

"I hope it's not another ferret or raccoon." Gavin commented. "It took three months to clean up the mess your ferret made in the potions room last time you were home!"

"Don't worry, it's nothing that's quite so curious, as well as busy, this time." Alex said while pulling a white rat out of his pocket.

"Oh, he's cute! What's his name?" Savana asked while snatching the rat from her brother's hands.

Fiona visably relaxed and walked over next to Savana to pet the rat.

"Why are the tips of his nose and ears brown? Oh, look! "Fiona cried."He has blue spots on his back.....They form a familiar pattern......but, I can't quite place it." 

"He is an enchanted Siamese rat, mother." Alex said. "His name is Orion because the spots on his back look like the constellation, Orion." 

"I don't want to know where you found him." Gavin said. "I've heard enough of your stories to last me a lifetime."

"All right, what is so earth shattering that Savana's is in a panic?" Alex asked. "It's not often that she gets so worked up over something."

So, Gavin launched into a explaination of Lord Voldemort and his followers, The Death Eaters. As well as, how they were defeated by Harry Potter 15 years ago, when Harry was just a baby, and how Harry's parents were killed in the same incident. 

"I still don't see what that has to do with us." Alex said. "And it doesn't explain why we have to leave for England."

"Because..." Gavin continued.... "You were too young to remember this, but, the Potters were very good friends of ours and Voldemort thought he had killed the three of us over a year before he killed the Potters."

"We've been living in hiding ever since then." Fiona explained. "Voldemort doesn't even know Savana exists! I was pregnant with her at the time he attempted to kill us. If he knew we were still alive he would have us killed."

"Our family, and your mother's family, are among the most powerful wizarding families known." Christina picked up the thread of explaination. "Your parents were working with the Potters, and others, to over thow Lord Voldemort. Now that Voldemort has come back into power we need all the help we can get to fight him."

"If we go back to England, won't Voldemort realise we're still alive and that 

I exist?" Savana asked.

"It's only a matter of time until Voldemort finds out anyway." Christina said. "This way we have the element of suprise working for us. I've arrainged to have Savana enroll at Hogwarts as a sixth year student, and for you to be an assistant to Hagrid." Christina said looking at Alex. "Hagrid will put your love of critters to good use because he teaches a class in the Care of Magical Creatures."

"I never thought Alex's passion for rescuing animals would be useful. Your father and I will be living with your aunt Christina." Fiona commented while watching Alex as he retrieved Orion and fed him a peanut. 

Orion snatched the peanut, then ran up Alex's arm to his shoulder. Once there, the rat happily ate the peanut. He then searched briefly for more goodies. When he realized no more treats were forthcoming, he crawled back into Alex's pocket and curled up into a sleepy ball.

"I still don't want to leave my friends and school." Savana muttered. "I think I'd be just as safe at Aurora Borealis Academy and it would be alot more fun! However, if I stayed here, I'd be worried sick about the rest of you." She added. "So, I'll call my friends to say goodbye, then I'll pack my trunk. When are we leaving?"

...'~*~'...

Sirius padded quickly across Hogwarts grounds toward the Whomping Willow and the secret entrance to the castle. He would transform back to his human self once he was outside Dumbledore's office since he couldn't speak while he was in canine form.

Once he was in the hallway, near Dumbledore's office, he checked to make sure he was alone, then, turned back into his human form. 

"What is the password?" He muttered to himself as he stood by the gargoyle which stood guard over the secret entrance to Dumbledore's office. He couldn't take the chance of standing out here in the open much longer. Someone might recognize him and turn him in to the Ministry.

_"He tends to favor the names of sweets for passwords."_ Sirius thought.

"Lemon Drops, Chocolate Frogs, Shock Tarts...." Sirius commanded the unresponsive gargoyle.

"Try Laffey Taffy." suggested a silkey, familiar voice from behind him.

Sirius jumped in suprise. "What do you think you are doing?! You could have given me a heart attack!"

"One can only dream of such things." Snape sighed, dreamily.

" I need the password, Snape. It wouldn't be floating around in that greasey excuse for a head, would it?" Sirius retorted. 

" I already told it to you. I thought dogs had better hearing than humans, or are you just as deficient as a dog as you are as a human?" Quipped Snape. 

"Well, at least I wasn't _brilliant_ enough to be caught trying to dance with the Whomping Willow."1 Sirius retorted while trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile.

"That was a cruel joke!" Snape sneered.

"Which, you fell for." Sirius snickerd. "Laffey Taffy" He commanded while chocking down a burst of laughter.

The gargoyle obediently lept aside, granting them access to Albus Dumbledore's office. Snape trailed behind as Sirius dashed up the stairs to Dumbledore's office, but, came to a screeching halt outside of the office door. He quietly put his ear against the office door, listening to find out who was inside. He could hear Dumbledore's voice, as well as, Professor McGonagall's. They sounded like they were in the middle of discussing something, but, he needed to talk to Dumbledore about Harry's letter immediately! So, he had no choice but to interrupt them. He knocked softly on the door and waited for a response.

"Sirius! What are you doing here? You know how dangerous doing this kind of thing is. Someone could see you and you'd be arrested!" Exclaimed Professor McGonagall, upon opening the door.

"I don't want to see any more Dementors around here, and I most certainly 

don't want to be the one to tell Harry his Godfather has been arrested again." Albus Dumbledore added with concern in his voice. " I assume that whatever brought you here is quite urgent.''

"It is urgent and I have questions I need answers to as well." Sirius replyed. He then went on describe Harry's letter in great detail.

"This is an interesting turn of events." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "We had believed the entire Walker family was killed by Voldemort 16 years ago. We've never heard of their teenage daughter. She and her brother could be extremely powerful wizards, when you consider who their parents are. I wonder if either of them inherited the Walker Family's special gift. Harry's letter indicates that they may have."

"What gift would that be?" Snape asked.

"They are Merlin's desendants, and because of that, they may possess telepathic and telekinetic abilities." Dumbledore replyed. 

"That explains why Harry saw them in his dream. One of them must have been sending him a message." Sirius stated. 

"Their comming here will definately increase the strength of our forces." McGonagall stated. "It will also add an interesting teacher's assistant and new student to this school."

They all knew the Walker's were alive and comming back to England to help them in their war against Lord Voldemort.

1. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN: Sirius is referring to a prank he played on Severus Snape when they were both students at Hogwarts. Sirius told Severus to follow Lupin into a tunnel underneath the whomping willow and explained to Severus how to get to the tunnel without being attacked by the tree. Sirus knew Lupin was a werewolf, and it was a full moon, he had to know Lupin would bite Severus if he saw him. Severus didn't know Lupin was a werewolf, consequently, he wasn't aware of the danger he was in. James Potter, Harry's father, rescued Severus by preventing him from entering the tunnel, being bitten by Lupin, and being turned into a werewolf. Snape is still angry about the incident.


	3. Back to the Burrow

(A/N Harry Potter and the associated characters, etc., belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. The only things that belong

to me are the plot of this story, and the characters: Christina, Gavin ,Fiona, Alex, and Savana Walker, as well as a 

few others.)

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

_Chapter 3_

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Back to the Burrow

Dudley peered into Harry's darkened bedroom through the partially opened door. He figured he had about twenty minutes to find Harry's stash of birthday sweets, before Harry would be done preparing dinner. Dudley knew that Harry had recieved a package from Ron for his birthday and knew there would be edible treats in it. So, now he needed to find them before Harry returned to his room. After all, it was only fair. He figured Harry owed him that much, and more. He thought it was Harry's fault that he didn't get a birthday party this year.

Dudley had been pouting all summer because he didn't get the lavish birthday party he expected. Uncle Vernon had been layed off from work last month and the family had no savings. They had used most of their money to spoil Dudley all these years. Uncle Vernon had asked his family for some money to tide them over until he got back to work, but, no one would lend them any. They had all heard about the strange nephew living at the Dursley's and they wanted nothing to do with him, or with anyone associated with him. So, they couldn't give Dudley the Birthday party he wanted, nor, could they afford to do anything else. Therefore, Dudley felt justified helping himself to most, if not all, of any sweets Harry had been given for his birthday. Hence, Dudley's present trip to Harry's room.

Dudley had already figured out several possibilites of where Harry might have hidden anything he wanted to keep secret. Now, he just needed to check them until he found what he was looking for. As he was checking under the bed, he noticed Hedwig starring at him from her cage.

"You'd better keep quiet, or, I'll make sure you're turned into a featherduster." Dudley quietly threatened her. Hedwig blinked, then went back to sleep.

Dudley found nothing in the first few hiding places he checked. Then he checked under a loose floor board, which he recalled using himself at times...

SUCCESS!!! Nestled in the space below were a cake (with a note saying "Happy Birthday" from Hagrid) ; and a bag containing several different types of sweets. Dudley helped himself to everything in the space and quickly went to his room to sample the goodies. But, just as he closed the door, he heard his mother calling him down for dinner. So, he put the sweets in his closet. Just in case, Harry was stupid enough to try and find them. Then he went down to dinner.

...~'*'~...

Dudley noticed his parents seemed to be in very good moods when he sat down to dinner. He wondered why and asked them as much.

"Harry will be leaving us tonight. He'll be spending the rest of the holiday with those awful friends of his." Dudley's mother said with a distainful sniff.

"The ones who destroyed the fireplace and the sitting room the last time they were here."

Normally, the Dursley's wouldn't do anything that would make Harry happy, but, this year, they resented spending any money on their peculiar nephew, now more than ever before. Consequently, they couldn't be happier to send Harry away.

Harry, for his part, was busy trying to hide his happiness about leaving.

"Toad in a Hole, again!" Whinned Dudley.

"It's the only edible meal Harry knows how to prepare." Stated Uncle Vernon, with enough distain for Harry to know that,once again his uncle was insulting him. 

"_I should have used real toads_." Harry thought darkly as he glanced at his spoiled, obese cousin. 

Dudley had gotten so large, that the chair in which he sat, was invisable under his bulk. Aunt Petunia had put him on a diet. He was so large that they would have to pay a tailor to make Dudley a new school uniform. The school's regular uniform supplier didn't make a uniform large enough to fit Dudley, at his current size.

Harry wished, for perhaps the thousandth time, that he could stay with his godfather, Sirius Black, instead of here. The only place he could think of that would be worse, was Azkaban, the Wizarding World's prison. At least, in a few hours, he would be leaving here for The Burrow. He wished he was already there. 

...~'*'~...

Dudley grinned as he surveyed the sweets spred out on his bed and contemplated which ones he wanted to sample first. He decided to eat Hagrid's cake, which was dry and lumpy, while he checked out the rest of _his_ goodies.

"...Cat Tails; Fruit Mutants; Laffey Taffey; _Drooble's Best Blowing Gum; Ice Mice; Chocolate Frogs (with Wizard cards); and Bon Bons_.1 The names on these candy packages are almost as weird as Harry and his friends are." Dudley muttered to himself. "OOPS!" He squawked, as one of the Bon Bons rolled off the edge of the bed.

BOOM! Dudley lept backwards and fell off the other side of the bed and onto the floor. The Bon Bon had exploded when it had hit the floor. Suddenly, Dudley wasn't quite as sure he wanted to eat all of the candy. His stomach, however, wasn't expirencing any such problems. He'd felt deprived all summer since his mother no longer kept an abundance of sweets and junk food around the house. She claimed they were an ''_unnecessary expense_."

He turned his attention to the Chocolate Frogs, thinking they looked rather innoccuous. He opened the package, popped the frog into his mouth and tossed the wizard card into the trash bin without a second glance. 

The wizard on the card scowled up at Dudley, then marched indignantley out of the picture while Dudley opened and consumed the rest of the frogs. He also continued to throw the rest of the wizard cards into the trash bin.

Dudley then opened the package of Ice Mice and inspected one. It was small, about the size of a lifesaver candy, hard, clear, and shaped like a mouse. He tossed it into his mouth and began to chew.... His teeth begain to chatter,as if he were terribly cold, and a muffled squeak issued from inside of his mouth! He quickly swallowed and decided not to try any more of the mice.

He decided to chew a couple of pieces of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, which appeared to be innocent enough, while he figured out which candies would be safe to eat next.

"_Laffey Taffy_, it would probably make him laugh until he was sick." He tossed it on top of the Ice Mice and blew a bubble. "_Cat Tail's, who knew what would happen if he ate those_?'' He added them to the growing _rejected unless I get desperate_ pile and blew another bubble...

_"Hmmm...Fruit Mutants..."_ They looked like taffy kisses. Dudley decided they appeared to be harmless enough, maybe he should give one a try...Something bounced lightly against his ear and Dudley swatted at it absently while he tryed to decide whether to listen to his stomach, which demanded more candy, or to his intuition, which whispered that Fruit Mutants had to be something more then a strange flavor of fruit. He spat out the wad of gum, which had lost its zip anyway, and hesitantly unwrapped a piece of the Fruit Mutant taffy. He put the candy into his mouth and began to chew it. It tasted like raspberries at first, then changed to green apple, lemon, and lastly, cherry. Dudley grinned, if one was good, he figured, more would be better. So, he gleefully unwrapped the rest of the candies and shoved all of them into his mouth at once and began to chew again.

He was enjoying the tangy, varied, flavors when something gently bounced off the top of his head and in front of his face.

"What the. . ." Dudley muttered as a bright blue bubble, which was as big as his head, bounced in front of his face. He swatted at it, but, instead of popping, the bubble simply broke apart into several smaller bubbles which floated out of reach. 

Dudley then noticed several more of the blue bubbles floating around the room and some of them were as big as he was! He tried to pop all of those as well, but, his efforts met with the same results as with the first one. Soon, the room was filled with bright blue bubbles that wouldn't pop and disappear, no matter what he tried.

He began to wonder where the bubbles had come from, as he swallowed the last of the Fruit Mutants. He knew they were connected to Harry and the candy, somehow. Oh, how he hated the little begger!

Dudley's attention shifted from the bubble problem to a persistant itching on his back, near his shoulder blades. He reached as far around his back as he could, so he could scratch the itch, and felt something strange sticking out from his shoulder blade. He repeated the procedure on the other side, with the same results. He went over to a mirror so he could see what was happening to him and shrieked when he saw the image reflected back to him!

He was green and a pair of wide, blue, cat eyes stared back at him. He twisted around, to look at his back, and saw something that looked like large, purple bat wings there. He began to scream loudly!

Harry heard the commotion coming from down the hall and dashed toward the source to find out what was happening.

When he threw open the door to Dudley's room, he had to put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud at the sight that greeted him!

Standing before him was the oddest creature he had ever seen in his life! It still sounded like Dudley, but, didn't look like him at all! The beast had the head of a toad, a neck like a frilled lizard (Harry especially liked the way the frill faned out and changed colors when Dudley became angry.), a body like a horse, the legs of a giraffe, and the tail of an alligator. The beast's color was changing constantly and when it spoke a snake's tongue darted in and out. 

"Dudley, it isn't Halloween yet, or, is that a new school uniform you're trying out?" Harry quipped while unsuccessfully trying to hide his laughter.

Harry heard muffled laughter coming from the rubbish bin by the bed, as well as assorted nasty comments. "....must be from the shallow end of the gene pool...should've caught on after the Ice Mice...Best mutation I've ever seen! Must have eaten the whole pack of Fruit Mutants at once...._absolutely brilliant!_" 

Harry moved quickly toward the rubbish bin to rescue the wizard cards. He also wanted to make sure that his Aunt and Uncle didn't hear them, which would only add to his problems.

Dudley's continued shrieking, predictably, brought his mother and father thundering to his aide. They stopped long enough to take in the ridculous tableau before them, while Harry hastily stuffed the protesting wizard cards into his pocket.

"_....WAIT! JOLLY GOOD SHOW! We want to see what else this idiot muggle becomes!_" The now hidden wizards cards continued their protesting.

"HARRY! What have you done to your poor cousin now!" Wailed Aunt Petunia. 

"I didn't do anything, Aunt Petunia, honest!" Harry protested. He knew his aunt and uncle would blame him for this mess, no matter what happened. He, 

therefore, decided to keep any further explainations to himself and searched for some avenue of escape.

"Can we keep him, dad?" Quipped a familiar voice that was new to this entire drama. "He's _SO_ cute and cuddley! And look at all of the pretty, blue bubbles!" The voice continued, dripping with sarcasim.

Harry looked past his uncle's angry, purple face and saw George's grinning visage in the doorway. Next to them, he also saw Ron, Fred and Arthur Weasley. Their entrance couldn't have been timed better! Thanks to Dudley's piggish behavior, Harry knew he needed to make a hasty retreat.

"Now, George, you mustn't make fun of Dudley's misfortune." Arthur said to his son while trying to hide a smile of his own. He was familiar with the effects of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and of Fruit Mutants.

The blue bubbles, which filled the room and were also escaping into the hallway, were the result of the bubble gum. The bubbles would last for hours. The results of the Fruit Mutants, however, were another matter entirely. 

Normally, the effects of the prank candy were short lived, lasting only 15 minutes or so. The victim of the joke only became one animal, not a mixture of animal parts. It was obvious to him that Dudley had eaten many of the candies at once, something every wizard knew should never be done, lest they suffer the same fate as the creature before him.

"I demand you all leave this house IMMEDIATELY!!!" Raged Uncle Vernon. "This is the last time you will harm my son, or, make fun of him."

"Oh, my poor, little Dudykins!" Wailed Aunt Petunia. "What has that mean, nasty wizard done to you this time?" She continued, as she attempted to comfort the now wailing beast that was her son. She glared over its shoulder at Harry and the Weasleys.

Harry and the Weasleys decided this would be a good time to beat a hasty retreat to Harry's room. Once there, they broke into hysterical laughter.

"We sent you the prank candy because we knew Dudley would eat at least some of it!" Fred said, while rolling on the floor and laughing. "We never knew the results would be this good! I haven't had this good a laugh in years!I think I'm going to wet my pants!"

"This will be something to tell everyone at Hogwarts!" Ron said while holding his sides. "How long will it take for Dudley to turn back into his usual, rolly, polly self?"

"I suspect it will be several hours, at least." Arthur chuckled. "I suspect no one really knows, since most wizards aren't such pigs."

"Whatever. . ." Harry snorted, as tears rolled down his face from laughing so hard. "We'd better get out of here."

"How did you get here, anyway? Floo Powder?" Harry continued.

"No, after our experience with the fireplace the last time we used Floo Powder here, we didn't dare try it again." Arthur explained. "This time, we used a portkey. It is located outside in your relatives' backyard."

"We've got all of your stuff, so, let's get going." Ron told Harry.

Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage. Then he quickly followed the Weasleys down the hallway, past his uncle's murderous look, and out of the house into the backyard.

"The portkey is over here, Harry!" Shouted Fred. "It's this broken bird bath."

Harry joined the others and they grabbed the edge of the portkey at the same time. Harry felt himself yanked up through a swirling vortex and had to concentrate on holding onto Hedwig's cage with one hand and the edge of the birdbath with the other one. He was aware of Ron on his right side, and of Fred on his left, as they traveled onward.

They landed with a _THUMP!_ outside of the Burrow, where the rest of Ron's 

family were waiting for them. Harry let go of the portkey and shook his hair out of his face. He then re-seated his glasses on the bridge of his nose and smiled as Mrs. Weasley engulfed him in a welcoming hug. Harry couldn't be happier to see them, or to be here, where he felt loved and cherished, at last.

1. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN 


	4. Stellaluna

(A/N Harry Potter and the associated characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. The only things that belong

to me are the plot of this story, and the characters: Christina, Gavin, Fiona, Alex, and Savana Walker, as well as

a few others.)

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

_Chapter 4_

Stellaluna

The remainder of Harry's summer holiday passed uneventfully. He went with the Weasleys to watch a Quidditch match, featuring the Chuddley Cannons. The Cannons eventually won, after three days,and nights of intense play.

Their annual trip to Diagon Alley, for school supplies, etc., had been rather entertaining..... Harry, Ron, and Ginny had gone into a magical creatures shop to find an animal for Ginny to bring with her to Hogwarts. (She had not inherited an animal, as her brothers had. And they had discovered a few years ago that the rat, which Ron had inherited from Percy, was actually an animagus.) 

When they entered the shop, they saw tanks and cages, filled with various animals, lining the walls of the shop and set up in displays. They enjoyed themselves, admiring the various creatures: _a white rabbit,who changed into a top hat and back; a cage of magic rats,who were involved in some type of game_;1 a talking iguana,who sat behind the register making comments; and a pair of large Asian fruit bats, hanging by thier feet in a dark corner. 

"What kind of animal were you thinking of getting, Ginny?" Harry asked.

"I don't really know yet." Ginny answered. "Something small and inexpensive. I don't have much money to spend, even though I've been saving everything I've gotten. I'd like something furry, though, no toads, turtles, or anything like that. I want something I can relate to."

"I know what you mean." Ron said. "I kind of miss Scabbers, even if he did sleep most of the time. He was a pretty good pet, at least while he was a rat. It's too bad he turned out to be a sleezy wizard."

"Why don't you get a cat? Crookshanks is getting a little lonely." Piped a familiar voice.

"Hi, Hermione! How did you find us in here?" Harry asked.

"I saw you go into the shop." Hermione explained, while examining a small, round, ball of fluff nestled in a box by the counter. "What are these?"

"They're dust bunnies." The clerk informed her.

"Oh, they're cute!" Ginny gushed, while stroking one of the dust bunnies. It began to make a soft cooing sound, which they all found to be relaxing. "But I was thinking of something a little more active." She added while continuing her search.

"Hey, Ginny! How about one of these?" Harry teased, while he indicated the bats.

He was shocked when Ginny looked wistfully at them and said, "I wish I could afford one. I've always wanted a pet bat. I think they're amazing creatures." She walked past the astounded Harry and spoke quietly to the bats.

"Close your mouth, before a bug flies into it, Harry." Ron chuckled. "Ginny has been crazy about bats since she was about three years old. None 

of us have ever understood the attraction."

"Didn't I just hear you say you missed your rat? A lot of people think they're pretty gross." Hermione said archly.

"They just don't know any better. Rats are actually extremely intelligent, as well as very personable." Chimmed in a new voice. "Please, forgive me for interrupting. I couldn't help but to overhear your conversation. My name is

Alex Walker, and this is my sister, Savana." He continued, indicating an auburn haired teen with a hawk perched on her forearm.

"Whoa! Harry, look at that hawk!" Ron exclaimed.

"Wow! Where did you get him from?" Harry asked Savana.

"I've had _HER_ since she was very young." Savana replied, rather cooly.

"Savana..." Alex gentley cautioned her. Then he continued, directing his message toward Harry and the others. "We're both still suffering from culture shock and jet lag, sorry." 

"We found her near our school a couple of years ago. She had been injured, shot by someone, and couldn't fly or take care of herself. So, we nursed her back to health.She refused to leave us when she had healed and we tryed to re-introduce her to the wild, however. She was always rather partial to Savana, so my sister kept her as something as a pet"

"What kind of hawk is she and what is her name?" Asked Hermione.

"She's a Cooper's hawk. They're native to northern Minnesota, where we think our school is located. We named her Mariah,2 which is the name for the wind, according to an American song." Explained Savana.

Alex pulled Ron aside during this explaination. "I have a question I want to ask you." Alex whispered to Ron. "Savana and I are here because the shop owner wanted me to take a look at an orphaned Flying Fox, a type of fruit bat. She's not old enough to sell or to make it on her own, so, he wanted me to take her and raise her. However, my parents will probably disown me if I come home with another animal. You see, I have a history of bringing home animals, many of whom need care of some sort or another. They aren't always the perfect house guests, and my mom, especially, has had it! To make matters worse, I'm new here and really don't have anyplace to live yet. So, you'd really be doing me a favor if your sister could take this little bat home with her." Alex finished while looking at Ron hopefully.

"Hey, Ginny!" Ron said quietly while pulling at her shoulder, to get her attention. "Alex, here may have the answer to your prayers." Then he told her about the orphaned bat and Alex's prediciment.

"Wow, really!" Ginny breathed with excitment shining in her eyes. "That would be absolutely brillant! Can we get it now?" She asked, jumping up and down with excitment.

"The owner is putting her in a carrying case for me now. We'll take her to your parents together, so, I can explain everything to them." Alex offered. 

Just then, the shop owner appeared, carrying a small, covered cage which he then handed to Alex. "Best of luck to you." He said.

They were startled by a huge racket where the rest of the group had been standing. As they watched with various expressions, which ranged from horror to delight, they saw Crookshanks leap from his basket and tear out the door. He was being pursued by Mariah, who appeared to be in full attack mode. Hermione dashed out the door followed closely by Savana and the rest of the group.

They made a raggedy parade as they tore through the labyrinth that made up Diagon Alley. People stared and shook their fists at them as they ran by. Finally, Hermione came to a screeching halt. Crookshanks had crawled into an overturned trash can and was cowering in the back of it, hissing at anyone who dared looked in. Hermione knelt down by the can and began to cajole Crookshanks out, but he would have none of it. In the meantime, Savana had caught up to Mariah and was busy soothing her, as well as, tieing a tether to her legs so she couldn't fly off again.

"I'm really sorry! I don't know what got into her! She never acts like this!" Savana cried, feeling somewhat confused and embaressed.

"Are you insane!? Why isn't that thing tethered?! Look at him!" Hemione shouted at her. "How am I going to get him out of this trash bin?! We can't use magic because we're not at Hogwarts and it STINKS IN THERE!" 

Savana sighed and said. "I could go in there for you, and get him out. It was my hawk who chased him in there in the first place."

She handed Mariah to Hermione, who held her as far away from herself as she possibly could. Then she knelt down, and began to crawl forward into the trash can, while speaking soothingly to Crookshanks. Crookshanks simply hissed at her as his fur stood more on end. Just then, Hermione saw Alex, Ron, Harry, and Ginny round the corner and head for them.

"Oh, let me do it! Your hawk doesn't like me anyway, and Crookshanks will probably rake you with his claws." Hermione demanded, pushing Savana out of her way as she caught sight of Alex approaching. Hermione couldn't help herself, she desperately wanted to make an impression on Alex. _ "After all," _she reasoned to herself, _"what girl in her right mind wouldn't want him to pay attention to her?"_

Savana fumbled with the hawk's tether, as Mariah was hastily thrust upon her by Hermione. Savana sighed, Alex always seemed to have this effect on women.

Alex was about six feet tall; with striking, violet eyes; his mother's dark coloring; and a beautiful, sunny smile which seemed to encompass the recipient in a warm glow. He wore his shining, black hair tied back in a single braid, reminiscent of a Native American. He was very charismatic, as well as handsome and humble, which just added to his attractivenss.

Hermione crawled forward into the can until just the bottom half of her showed. She backed out with Crookshanks clinging to her shoulder and covered with garbage. Bits of slimy, smelly, rotting things were sticking to her hair and shoulders, as well as to Crookshanks' fur. 

A familiar, nasty voice said, "Hey, Granger! I just love what you've done with your hair and what do you call that fetching perfume your wearing?! I must get some for my mother!" 

"Malfoy! I can't believe Hermione didn't find you in there as well!" Ron said in a cynical manner. "After all, it is your natural habitat."

"It's better than belonging in the gutter, or on the streets, like some poverty stricken, gutter snipes, who shall remain nameless." Draco replied. "After all, we wouldn't want to make a bad impression on these strangers here, would we?" He continued, while indicating Alex and Savana.

"Maybe you'd better leave immediately before I let my hawk get real up close and personal, with your face." Savana growled. "After all, hawks do hunt ferrets, and you certainly bear a striking resemblance to one!"

Draco flushed to the roots of his pale hair with anger at the striking, but smart mouthed, girl before him. He had been attracted to the group, whom he usally ignored, by the lithe, auburn haired, female in their midst. Unfortunately, she clearly was not impressed with, what he considered to be, his clever comment. She kept her angry, cold, aquamarine eyes focused on his, waiting to see who would back down first. Draco decided that, for the moment at least, she wasn't worth the trouble, especially since he would probably never see her again. So, he turned and walked away, with one last comment. "I'd be careful about hanging around such a bunch of loosers, if I were you. It's contagious." And with that said, he strode confindently away.

"The only looser I see around here, is you!" Savana retorted, with a sneer, to his retreating back.

"What sewer did _that_ come crawling out of?" Savana questioned the rest of the group after Draco had left.

"That, my dear... is the one and, THANK GOD, the only!; one of a kind, infamous, Draco Malfoy!" Ron said affecting a snooty accent. "We go to Hogwarts together, fortunately, he is in a differant house then we are." 

"It's interesting that you called him a ferret. A couple of years ago, an evil wizard turned Malfoy into a ferret, to teach him a lesson." Ginny chuckled. "It's the only time I've ever found him appealing"

"Are you sure he was an evil wizard?" Savana queried. "That sounds like poetic justice, to me."

"Just be glad you don't have to go to school or take classes with him." Harry stated with a groan. "It's _SO_ enjoyable, especially potions, which is taught by Professor Snape, his house head." 

"Professor Snape is bad enough, but, with Malfoy there, it's truely a journey through hell!" Ron added rolling his eyes.

Savana appeared ready to ask for further clairification, but, just then, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley appeared calling for Ron, Harry, and Ginny. "It's time to go home." she said.

"Oh, Alex!" Ginny cried. "That's my mum. Would you please come with me to explain about the bat?"

"Well, Ginny, I see you got some type of animal. What is it?" Mr. Weasley quized his daughter.

"It's a bat!" Ginny sang while she bounced up and down.

"Bat's are terribly expensive, how could you afford it?" Mrs. Weasley asked Ginny.

Alex introduced himself, then launched into an explaination of how Ginny aquired her bat. Then Ginny quietly lifted a corner of the cage cover so they could look at the bat within.

"She's a lovely little bat." Mrs. Weasley commented. "Thankyou Alex, for giving her to Ginny. I know Ginny will take very good care of her."

"What are you going to name her, Ginny?" Harry asked.

"How about Dracula, or Vampira?" Ron teased.

"How about Stellaluna?" Hermione suggested.

"That's a splended name! I think I'll name her that!" Ginny said with excitment.

"Well, Stellaluna, It's time to introduce you to your new home. Let's go everyone." Arthur Weasley said.

And so, everyone headed back to the Burrow. They had had a very full, and exhausting day.

1. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN.

2. "They Call the Wind Mariah"; PAINT YOUR WAGON.


	5. Collision at Kings Cross

(A/N Harry Potter and the associated characters, ect. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. The only things that do belong to me are the plot of this story, and the characters: Chirstina, Gavin, Fiona, Alex, and Savana Walker, as well as a few others.)

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

_Chapter 5_

**Collision at Kings Cross**

"Everyone had better get moving or you'll miss your train!" Molly Weasley announced to the general household, from the kitchen.

Harry appeared in the doorway with Hedwig in one hand and his trunk apparently floating along behind him.

"Harry, you know better then to use magic when your not at Hogwart's." Arthur Weasley chided him.

A burst of laughter came from around the corner and a parade of trunks, and assorted luggage came floating down the stairs and out the front door. Which, Arthur noted, had obligingly opened, all by itself.

"FRED, GEORGE, GET OUT HERE AND STOP ALL OF THIS TOM FOOLERY! THIS INSTANT!" Molly admonished the hidden pranksters.

Fred and George, the Weasley twins, had graduated (by the barest of margins) from Hogwarts over a year ago. Consequently, they were able use their magic without concern of being disciplined by the Minstrey of Magic, as Harry, Ron, and Ginny did. George and Fred had been well known pranksters during their tenure at Hogwarts.

The Weasley family had been aware of this quirky behavior since the twins had been toddlers. Fortunately, the twins had generally limited their pranks on family members to minor things, such as switching identities, etc. So, Mrs. Weasley was likely to be correct in assuming the twins were behind any funny business that occured when they were around, as she had now assumed.

"Gee whiz, Mum!" Whinned one of the twins. "We were just helping these three sloths get their stuff to the car as quickly as possible."

"Yeah!" Added the other twin. "We wouldn't want them to miss their train."

"How are we getting to the train platform this year?" Harry asked. 

"By car," Arthur commented. "The Ministry authorized me to adapt another car, as long as no children use it inappropriately." 1

They all headed out to the car and began to load all of the luggage into the car's boot. (Which had strangely, or perhaps not, when one considered the car's owner, was never too full for another item.) Then they all proceeded to pile into the car itself and Arthur started the engine and took off.

"Ginny, do you want to put Stellaluna on the back window shelf, next to Hedwig?" Harry asked. There was no response to Harry's question. "Ginny. . .? Oh no! We've forgotten Ginny!" 

"Nice play, Shakespear!" George muttered as Arthur made a U-turn in mid-air and headed back down to the Burrow. Harry watched as Ginny's bug-like, waving figure bacame larger at their approach. Ginny stopped waving and clutched the cage containing Stellaluna protectively to her chest and ran to the car.

"I forgot Stellaluna's food and I ran back into the house to get it. When I got back out here, you were gone!" Ginny wailed. "I knew you'd discover that you'd left me behind, sooner or later. I was just hoping it would be before you got to the train station." She continued.

"Ginny, we're so sorry, . . ." Molly began to say.

"Hey, no harm, no foul." Ron quipped. "But, if we don't get going, we'll miss the train, then we will need to find a way to Hogwarts on our own."

"Well, I certainly don't intend to allow you to use the method of transportation that you, Harry and the twins employed four years ago!" Arthur stated emphaticlly. "Hagrid told me that our old car had gone native and is still living in the forest near Hogwarts."

"I had a difficult enough time persueding the Ministry to allow me to replace that car with this one." He continued. "I don't think they would allow another replacement."

Arthur skillfully guided the now grounded, vehicle through the congested streets near the station. He spotted a convient parking place and turned into it.

Harry and Ginny snickered at the antics of Fred and George. They were making faces out of the car's back window, at a driver who was making angry gestures at their vehicle.

"Oh my! He obviously thinks we've taken his parking place!" George mocked, while holding his head in his hands, as if he were extremely worried.

"Well, I don't see any reserved signs on it." Fred stated cynically.

The frusterated motorist drove off in a huff, leaving the twins to seek a different form of diversion.

Everyone climbed out of the car, loaded the luggage onto pushcarts, and headed toward platform 9 3/4. They had few minutes to spare, due to their late departure from the Burrow.

Harry led the pack as they rushed toward the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10. They failed to notice the teenage girl rushing toward the same spot from the opposite direction. BANG! Harry flew one way, the girl flew another, and the luggage and carts landed haphazardly between them.

"WHAT THE . . . WHY DON'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" The girl shouted angerly at Harry.

"ME! YOU'RE THE ONE WITH TUNNEL VISION!" Harry retorted crossly.

"LOOK AT THIS MESS!" The girl shouted.

"Hey, I've met you before!" Harry said as he straightened his glasses. "You're the girl with the hawk. Savana, isn't it?"

"Get yourselves together! You two can reminisce later, on the train!" Said Ron. "Right now, we need to get this luggage picked up and get everyone through the portal before it closes."

The rest of the Weasleys were piling the luggage on the carts, as fast as they were able. Meanwhile, Harry and Savana had gotten to their feet and dusted themselves off.

"Ginny, go through the portal. Quickly now!" Molly admonished her daughter. "Ron, away with you! Shoo now!" She gave her son a small push, to get him moving in the direction of the portal.

"Now it's your turn." Arthur addressed Savana. "Then you can go, Harry. 

We'll follow and say goodbye to all of you at the train, if the portal stays open long enough."

Harry couldn't help but to remember his second year at Hogworts. He 

hadn't been able to get through the portal in time and ran into a brick wall instead. He hoped that he wasn't about to repeat that performance. He walked nonchalantly through the portal and emerged on the platform by the Hogwarts Express. He noticed he had been followed by the rest of the Weasleys, who hurried along behind him as he searched for anyone from the rest of their traveling group. 

"Harry, Savana! We're over here!" Shouted Ron from a compartment window near the end of the train.

Harry, Savana and the rest of the Weasleys, made their way toward him as quickly as they were able to. There was quite a crowd of parents and well wishers on the platform, which made it necessary to navigate carefully around groups of people as they made their way to the correct coach.

After thanking the Weasleys and saying their farewells, Harry and Savana quickly grabbed their carry-on baggage and got on board the train. They then made their way to the compartment Ron had hailed them from.

"Harry, I heard you'd crashed and burned outside the portal." A prim voice teased.

"Hello, to you too, Hermonie." Harry stood holding Hedwig in the compartment doorway. He glanced around it, then looked behind him at Savana. "There are too many of us to fit comfortably in this compartment. Savana and I'll see if there's another one nearby."

"Savana, if you would check those, I'll check these." Harry suggested while indicating down the corridor.

Savana noticed that the train had begun to move as she knocked on the door next to the compartment occupied by the others. The door was opened by a pug faced girl, who wore a rather unpleasant expression on her face. 

"We don't want any." She said snidely, as though she were talking to a servant.

"Oh, I'm not selling anything." Savana said sweetly, even though she was

feeling more like slapping the girl in the face. "My friend and I were looking for a compartment which might have a couple of empty seats for us to use during the trip to school. However, it's obvious that there's no room in here."

Savana arched an eyebrow as she took in the view of two of the compartments occupants. She thought they bore an amazing resemblance to neandrothals with bad haircuts. She couldn't see anything of the fourth occupant, except their shoes. She did, however, recognise the owner of the voice which now drawled from behind the door.

"I recognise that awful accent! What are _YOU_ doing here?" The owner of the snobbish voice came into view around the edge of the door. "What's the problem, here? Don't the mudblood and her poverty stricken friends want the privilage of your company for a few hours?"

"If you must know, there are five of us and the compartment only holds four comfortably." Savana responded while fighting a desire to drop an anvil on the pale, little, ferret faced boy in front of her. Just like in the cartoons in the USA. Now that she thought about it, it would be nice to do the same to the rest of the compartment's occupants, especially the snotty, little, witch (with a capital B) who had answered the door. "Maloderous, isn't that your name?" Savana uttered with a tone of sweet contempt in her voice. She was actually very aware that his name was Draco Malfoy, but, couldn't resist the impulse to insult him. 

"It's MALFOY! " Draco retorted, while slowly turning red with fury. "DRACO MALFOY, of the ancient, wizard lineage of Malfoy!"

"Oh, please excuse my little faux pas." Savana apologised, hopeing she sounded appropriately humble and snide. "We were never properly introduced. Now, if you will excuse me, I'll continue with my quest. I can see that my presence here is undesirable. I would rather sit on the floor of the other compartment for the entire journey, than to impose myself upon such an august group." Savana allowed the sarcasm to drip from her voice as she made the last statement. 

Pansey shut the door with much more force than was necessary.

_"I hope that doesn't knock down any of that luggage stashed on the upper racks, over their seats." _Savana thought, maliciosly.

She turned back toward Harry, who now stood shaking his head, outside of their original compartment. As she did so, a mighty crash could be heard from within the compartment containing Malfoy and his cronies. She could also hear assorted yelps and curses coming from within. It was all Savana could do to contain her laughter as she motioned Harry to open the door to, what was now, their compartment. 

She dove through the open doorway as Ron, and the others inside the compartment, tried to exit. They wanted to know what was going on inside Malfoy's compartment. (As did everyone else in the car.)

"Follow me, and shut the door, quickly!" Savana commanded the other four as she backed up toward the compartment's window.

"Savana, I know this makes no sense, whatsoever, but, I suspect you had more than a little to do with what just happened in there." Harry said, with suspicion in his voice.

Savana sprawled on the floor laughing hysterically. "I _might_ have had a little, something to do with it." She gasped between bursts of laughter.

"Just what did you say your last name was?" Hermonie asked suspiciously.

"Walker." Savana replyed innocently.

1. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS: Harry, Ron, Fred and George missed 

the Hogwarts Express. In order to get to Hogwarts, they borrowed the car Arthur Weasley had modified and flew 

it to Hogwarts. They had some trouble as they approached the school and crashed into the Whompping Willow.

The car escaped into the surrounding forest and became a wild thing.


	6. The Transfer Student

(A/N Harry Potter and the associated characters, etc., belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. The only things that belong to me are the plot of this story, and the characters: Christina, Gavin, Fiona, Alex, and Savana Walker, as well as a few others.)

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

_Chapter 6 _

****

The Transfer Student

Alex set his bags on the ground and sighed. He was standing outside the front gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and feeling rather nervous and a little homesick. 

The castle was so different from The Academy of the Aurora Borealis, where he had lived and studied for the past nine years! Both schools were surrounded by forests, but, that was where the similarities ended. The forests surrounding Hogwarts were typical of the British Isles, made up of hardwoods, deciduous trees and shrubbery.

Aurora Borealis was located on the shore of a large, deep lake, hidden in the remote pine and birch forests which typify northern Minnesota. Its buildings were constructed of logs and stone, which are common in that region. Their architecture was rustic and resembled an exclusive, northern wilderness retreat, rather than a school.

The school building, which contained most of the classrooms, was a large, three story, log lodge. It also housed a community center which doubled as an auditorium. 

The community center was quite spacious, the entire student body, faculty and staff could easily gather there. It had high, vaulted ceilings which were made of white pine, and a huge fireplace, made of stones, which dominated most of the northern wall. The southern wall was almost entirely constructed of windows and glass and because of that, the area could have been uncomfortably warm and bright. It was perfectly shaded, however, by towering white pine trees. It also afforded a magnificent

view of the enormous lake upon which the school was located. 

The school building was attatched by a breezeway to a smaller log building, which housed the dinning room and the kitchens.

This particular thought evoked memories of walking to the dinning room from his dormitory on cool, crisp mornings. The air had been scented with the bracing aroma of pine trees and, as he approached the kitchens, the aromas of frying bacon and freshly brewed coffee entered into the mix. During the colder months the entire potpourie was overlaid with the sweet smell of wood smoke, coming from various fireplaces and wood burning stoves, which were used to help heat the buildings which made up the complex.

Alex suddenly felt completely alone and so homesick that he had to fight an urge to turn around and return to The Academy as quickly as he possible could. 

"Orion, I don't know what my family has gotten me into, but, just now I'm not exactly a willing participant." He sighed.

Alex reached into his pocket and scratched the rat with a finger. Orion reciprocated by grasping the finger in his forepaws and began to lick and groom it. Alex saw a large, shaggy figure approaching him from the castle and withdrew his hand from Orion's fastidious attentions. 

Orion popped his head out of the pocket and chattered his teeth at Alex to indicate his irritation. When Alex failed to respond to that, he emerged from the pocket and scrambled up onto Alex's shoulder where he proceeded to nudge Alex's ear and neck in a quest for attention.

"Yeh've got ter be Alex." Said the bearded giant. "Let me introduce meself, Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts. And jus' who is this lil' feller?" He continued, indicating Orion, who eyed Hagrid suspiciously from his new perch under Alex's hair on the back of his neck.

"This is Orion, my pet rat and fellow traveler." Alex replied while reaching up to coax Orion out onto his hand or shoulder. 

Orion, however, would have none of it. He scampered back down Alex's jacket and disappeared into his pocket where he curled up into a defiant ball.

"Sorry about that." Alex continued, as Hagrid chuckled at Orion's behavior. "He hasn't been very happy with all of the traveling. He'll warm up to you when you've been around him for awhile."

"If yeh'll foller me, we'll stow yeh're gear and tour theh grounds." Hagrid suggested while hefting one of Alex's bags.

They walked through the gates together and headed down the drive toward Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Alex's new life.

...'~*~'...

"Walker!" Hermione exclaimed. "As in Gavin, Christina, and Fiona Walker?!"

"Quiet down Hermione." Harry advised her. "Everyone on this train will hear you, especially our _good friends _in the next compartment."

"Gavin and Fiona Walker are my parents. Christina Walker is my aunt. So what? And how do you know about them anyway?" Savana replied with a touch of suspicion in her voice.

"I can't believe I didn't figure this out when we met you in Diagon Alley! It must have been because I was so angry about your hawk attacking Crookshanks!...But, they're supposed to be dead! Voldemort killed them! And you aren't even mentioned!" Hermione sputted.

"Hermione, you're almost foaming at the mouth. And you're not making sense to anyone, except yourself, and possibly, Savana!" Ron admonished, sounding frusterated.

"She's part of the Walker family!" Hermione repeated, while indicating that what she had said should be completely self explainitory. The only response she recieved from everyone, except Savana, however, were puzzled expressions. "THE WALKERS!" Hermione stomped her foot in exasperation. "I sometimes wish the rest of you weren't SO illiterate! I read about them in _THE WORLD'S MOST WELL KNOWN WIZARDS_. You, and your family, are in that book too, Harry."

"Hey! Just because we haven't spent our lives with our noses buried in some dusty, old books, doesn't mean we're illiterate!" Ron protested heatedly.

Ron and Hermione glared at each other while the rest of the group stared at the floor in embaressment.

Savana tugged gently on Ginny's robe, to get her attention. "Do they always behave like this?" Savana whispered.

Ginny giggled. "Are you serious?" She whispered back. "These are their _company manners_. Wait until you've had the pleasure of living with them for awhile."

"I think part of their problem is that they love each other, but, they won't admit it." Ginny continued. She began to blush as Hermione and Ron turned their glare toward her.

Harry cleared his throat and looked at each of his fellow travelers. "Now that we've all demonstrated how rude we can be, let's get back to what Hermione was supposed to be explaining, Savana's family."

Hermione explained what she had read about the Walker's lineage, power, etc. "So," she concluded, "just how did your family survive, and why are you in England? Those are the two questions I'd like to hear the answers to first."

"Before I tell you anything more, I need you all to promise that anything said here, will remain between us only." Savana spoke in a low voice.

They all solemly promised, then leaned back to listen, as Savana told her story.

"I can't tell you much more than what Hermione already told you. It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I don't know anything more than what my aunt and parents told me." Savana explained. She told them about her parents and aunt, who had all grown up in the U.K., attended Hogwarts, and had been close friends of Harry's parents. She re-itinerated that they had been fighting Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters when his forces had attacked Gavin, Fiona and Alex one night and destroyed their house. It was assumed that all three of them had died that night. However, Christina had warned them of Voldemort's plans and they had been smuggled to the U.S.A., where they had lived in relative obscurity, since that time.

"I suspect there's alot more to the story than that, but, that's all they told Alex and me. So, for now, that's the story." Savana concluded.

"Are you really telepathic and telekinetic, like Hermione said you might be?" Ginny asked, in awe.

Harry began to laugh. "Just how do you think all of that stuff _fell_ onto our _good friends_ in there?" He indicated the Malfoy party's compartment with his head.

"Wow! So, you can hear what I'm thinking, or move something, just like that?" Ginny was still in awe.

"No, it doesn't work like that." Savana explained. "At least, not just yet. Telepathy and telekineses are like any other talent people are born with. Some people possess more ability than others, or are better able to use their talents. I'm just begining to manifest them and am learning to control them. They usually appear when I'm really upset, or something like that."

Savana noticed both Harry and Ron were staring at her in amazement. "Now, what's the problem? I just told you, I'm not some freak, who runs around reading everyone's mind, or anything like that." Savana admonished them, as her face began to flush with anger and embaressment.

"Oh, that's not what we were thinking about." Harry rushed to reassure her. "I just had a really strange dream. . .or something. . .I don't know what to call it. . .a few weeks ago. You were in it, and it was so strange that I told Ron, and another close friend, about it." Harry went on to describe his night vision, in great detail, to Savana and the others. As he did so he noticed that Savana had become pale.

"You're describing the night I was first told about all of this." Savana spoke as though she were in a trance. "I was really upset, especially about leaving home, my friends, and all of that. I must have been _broadcasting_."

"What is broadcasting? I've never heard of it before, at least not the way you've just used it." Ron appeared to be very curious.

"Broadcasting is sending out a strong telepathic message, to anyone who might be receptive to it. Since you recieved the message, Harry, you must have some telepathic sensitivity." Savana explained. She was begining to feel like a teacher.

"Where did you learn about all of this?" Ginny asked. "Do they teach about it in your school?"

"It's not a general subject, there. Chief Minnehaha instructed a small group of us." Savana said.

"MINNEHAHA! Now, you're just trying to fool us!" Ron snorted.

"No, she's telling the truth." Hermione asserted. "Chief Minnehaha is the Head Master of The Academy of the Aurora Borealis. I read it in _SMYTH'S GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF WITCHCRAFT & WIZARDRY_." Hermione said archly. She didn't add that if the others read more, they might have already known that, but, her face said it.

"Minnehaha is the Dakota word for laughing waters." Savana added.

Ginny was about to ask Savana to tell them more about herself and what life was like in the U.S.A., when there was a knock on the door. The snack trolley was outside of it and they all wanted to introduce Savana to their particular favorite.

Savana opened a Chocolate Frog, popped it into her mouth and studied the enclosed wizard card, as she ate it. This reminded Ron and Harry of the prank they had played on Dudley during the summer, so, they told the others all about it. 

"It was absolutely brilliant!" Ron concluded.

"I wonder when the effects of the Fruit Mutants finally wore off?" Harry added with a grin. It wasn't often that he truely got the better of his spoiled cousin.

They spent the rest of the trip catching up with various friends, who dropped by to visit, and Hermione suspected, to check out the new girl. Soon,they reached their destination, Hogsmeade station.

...`~*~`...

Alex and Hagrid approached the pond. It was the last stop on their tour of Hogwarts.

"We've got lots 'o beasties livin' in here." Hagrid said, rather proudly. "Theh ones yeh got 'ter watch out fer are theh: grindylows...them's nasty 'lil buggers..., merpeople...them's a snooty lot..., and theh giant squid...he's a big 'un."

Alex smiled and replied, "Aurora Borealis is on a huge, deep lake. It's called Lake Vermillion. There are lots of things living in it, too. My all time favorite, however, is our _Lake Monster, _Millie. 

"We got one 'o those, Nessie, lives in Loch Ness. She's a lake dragon, not a monster." Hagrid said. He was wondering just how much Alex knew about magical beasts, if he didn't know the difference between a lake dragon and a lake monster, it would be a long, difficult year.

"Actually, I know that, but the Muggles don't. You should hear some of the stories they tell about Millie's brother, Ogopogo.1" Alex replied.

"Prit'y nasty, eh? Them's like theh ones about Nessie." Hagrid felt some relief. Maybe the boy wasn't going to be a total loss.

Alex continued talking about the North American Ogopogo legend. "The Haida Indians, who live in the area, called Ogopogo, _N'ha-a-tik_, it means: The Lake Demon. He never did anything to deserve that name. Go figure."

Hagrid shook his large, shaggy head in puzzlement. There was no understanding Muggles, as far as he was concerned. "We mus' go back to theh castle. Theh students 'll be here, soon."

As they walked back to the castle, Alex thought that he might try to visit Nessie while he was here. She would probably like to hear about how her sister, Millie, was doing.

...`~*~`...

Harry and the rest of his troop, gathered their carry-on baggage and prepared to disembark from the train. They had to take care with their animals, Pigwidgeon and Stellaluna2 in particular, since they weren't overly fond of traveling.

Ginny had removed the cover from Stellaluna's cage, so that she could reassure her pet. The bat had decided it was time for a little food and exercise. (After all, it was dusk, and time to wake up, to the bat's way of thinking.) 

As they stood there on the platform, they heard a loud, unwelcome comment from nearby. "Hey, look! The little Weasel has a flying rat! How, fitting...hope you're happy together!"

Ginny quickly recovered Stellaluna's cage, as she turned red with embaressment and sought an appropriate reply to the double insult which Crabbe had hurled at her. Then she noticed Savana staring intently, and with silent fury, at Crabbe. Crabbe, for his part, had become pale and wore a horrified expression on his face. It was obvious to Harry and the others, who were aware of Savana's gifts, that she had filled Crabbe's few, functioning brain cells, with some sort of terrifying vision.

Harry and Ron each grabbed Savana by her respective sleeves and tugged at her until she moved away with them, toward the carriages waiting nearby.

"Savana, what did you just do?" Harry demanded in a low voice.

Savana flashed him a sweet, innocent smile. "Who, 'lil 'ol me?" She replied, affecting a soft, southern drawl. "I simply _showed_ him the error of his ways."

"If she isn't a little more careful, she'll _show_ us all into a month's worth of detention!" Hermione hissed. Then she added sweetly, "Oh, Savana! You'd better hurry and catch up to the rest of the first years. You'll miss the crossing ceremony."

"I'm not ten years old, Hermione! I don't need to take part in initiation ceremonies with children!" Savana replied haughtily. "Besides, I went through a first year ritual at Aurora Borealis years ago, and I have no intention of doing it again!"

"Would you two stop sparring, and get aboard this carriage?!" Ron's frusteration showed in his voice. "If you two keep acting this way, it's going to be a bloody, long year!"

Hermione and Savana both muttered something that sounded like _"It's all her fault"_ under their breath and climbed into the closest carriage. Harry noticed they sat as far away from each other as possible.

...`~*~`...

The Great Hall was resplendent in the glow of candlelight, from the multitude of candles, as well as moonlight, from the enchanted ceiling. The tables were all set for the opening banquet and the faculty was all in place at the head table. Harry noted a few new faces in their ranks.

Savana looked around her in awe, trying to take everything in. "This is amazing!" She whispered to Ginny, who stood beside her.

"I feel that way everytime I see it, too." Ginny whispered back.

The rest of the group had started toward the Gryffindor table. Savana began to feel nervous. She didn't know where to go or what to do. This feeling didn't sit well with her.

"I'm not sure where I should be. What do you think I should do?" Savana whispered to Ginny.

"I think you'll need to go with the first years..." Ginny began to say, but, Savana glared at her. "...just long enough to be sorted." She rushed to complete her thought.

"I'm sorry. You're just trying to help me and I'm treating you like a jerk. Thanks for your help." Savana began to make her way toward the queue of first years, while Ginny joined the rest of the Gryffindor table.

Professor McGonagall lead the first year students forward and Savana slipped into the line, while McGonagall retrieved the Sorting Hat and a stool.

She then placed them in front of everyone.

The hat was an old, patched wizard's hat and everyone was silent and stared at it. Then a tear in it opened like a mouth and the hat began to chant:

__

"A thousand years or more ago,For Ravenclaw, the cleverest

When I was newly sewn,Would always be the best;

There lived four wizards of renown,For Hufflepuff, hard workers were

Whose names are still well known:Most worthy of admission;

Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor, And power-hungry Slytherin

Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,Loved those of great ambition.

Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,While still alive they did divide

Shrewd Slytherin, from fen,Their favorites from the throng,

They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,Yet how to pick the worthy ones

To educate young sorcerersWhen they were dead and gone?

Thus Hogwarts School began.'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,

Now each of these four foundersHe whipped me off his head

Formed their own house, for eachThe founders put some brains in me

Did value different virtuesSo I could choose instead!

In the ones they had to teach.Now slip me snug about your ears, 

By Gryffindor, the bravest wereI've never yet been wrong,

Prized far beyond the rest;I'll have a look inside your mind

And tell where you belong!"3

"When I call your name, you will sit on this stool and I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head. It will tell us what house you will be placed in." Professor McGonagall addressed the first years. "Ian McClellon!" She announced.

Savana heard some nervous giggles around her as the first student called, walked forward and sat upon the stool. She tryed to quiet the butterflies in her stomach.

"Slytherin!" The hat announced.

The Slytherin table erupted into loud cheers as Ian sat down.

"Sarah Burns" McGonagall called.

A young girl with short, blonde hair approached the stool and sat down.

"Hufflepuff!" The hat sang out.

Everyone at the Hufflepuff table cheered as Sarah took her seat.

Professor McGonagall continued on down the list and the rest of the school continued on in this fashion until only Savana was left standing there. By this time she was feeling lonely and forgotten, as well as scared to death.

Professor McGonagall readjusted her glasses and studied her list. "Ah, here it is!" She said softly to herself. "Savana Walker!"

"That's the biggest first year I've ever seen! She must have been left back a 

few times!" Sniggered one of the Slytherin girls.

Professor Dumbledore shot her a stern look and she slid down in her chair. 

She wasn't embaressed by her behavior, only that she had been caught by the headmaster. 

Fortunately, Savana was concentrating too much on the Sorting Hat to hear 

the nasty comments from the Slytherin table.

_"Hmmm, interesting!"_ The hat said to Savana. _"I haven't seen any of your family in many years! Where to put you?" _The hat paused for a few seconds. "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted, as everyone at the Gryffindor table began to cheer.

Savana sighed in relief as she took a seat next to Ron and Harry. It was finally over and she was in the house she had desired to be in. She thought with relief. 

1. Levers, Don; OGOPOGO, THE MISUNDERSTOOD LAKE MONSTER: Ogopogo is a legendary 

lake serpent who lives in Okanagan Lake, located in British Colombia, Canada. He is believed to be

the great, great, great grandson of a European dragon named, Percival. Some of his relatives are 

Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster and Manapogo, the Lake Winnipegosis Monster.

2. Cannon, Janell; STELLALUNA.

3. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE.

A/N I will not update again until i get some reviews, like say 20.


	7. Brewing Trouble

(A/N Harry Potter and associated charaters etc., belong to J.K. Rowling not me. The only thing that does belong to me are; the plot of this story, and the characters who do not appear in Rowlings stories. Now, without further ado, I present my next chapter ^_^. Now, leave me alone, I have work to do.)

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

_Chapter 7_

Brewing Trouble

The next morning Savana sat, staring at her breakfast. She was seated at the Gryffindor table, in the Great Hall, along with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She found many of the food selections to be unappealing, so she had settled on toast with butter and marmalade; fruit juice; and something that was supposed to be coffee, though it was much too thick and strong for her taste. She suspected she would prefer just chewing the coffee beans and drinking a cup of hot water. She really needed the energy kick that the caffiene would have provided, since she was feeling exhausted from all of the events of the previous day. She decided to speak to Alex about teaching these people to make a decent cup of coffee as soon as possible, since she knew he was even more addicted to it than she was. She also suspected that, since the British were fond of tea, speaking to any of the resident staff about this problem wasn't likely to yeild many positive results. She sighed and pushed the offending beverage away.

Harry and Hermione sat opposite of her, intently studying their respective schedules and speculating about classes, professors, etc.

"Is it always so cool and damp here?" Savana asked with a shiver. The morning had dawned cool, foggy and damp. Savana found it to be uncomfortable and depressing. She didn't relish the idea of spending alot of time in this type of climate.

"I would think you'd like our climate, considering how cold and extreme the weather is where you're from." Ron said while stuffing his mouth full with something that smelled quite fishy.

Savana wrinkled her nose in distaste. "EWE! What are you eating?!"

"Mmm, kippers!" Ron replied. "Would you like to try one?"

"I'll pass, thanks." Savana gulped. Eating smelly, little fish just wasn't her idea of a tastey breakfast. "And living in northern Minnesota isn't like we're living on some Artic ice berg. We do have summer, you know, and it can be uncomfortably warm and humid."

"Yes, and the summer brings with it a myriad of nasty insects, most of which bite! And let us not forget the blood sucking mosquitos, which are so large and numerous, that the Muggles there, refer to them as the state bird. It all sounds absolutely charming." Hermione commented with authority.

"Where did you read that?!" Savana snorted.

"I didn't read it anywhere." Hermione retorted. "My uncle and aunt went to that area on holiday, a few years ago. They told me all about it and it sounded dreadfull!" She was warming to her subject. "Everywhere those nasty things bit them, they developed large, red, swellings, about the size of apples! It took them quite awhile, after they returned home, to recover. The doctors here, said most of us are allergic to mosquito bites, since we don't have anything like that here. It's true! I saw them!" Hermione defended herself, as she read the looks of disbelief on the others' faces.

Savana stared at Hermione with a mixture of scorn and disbelief. "Why didn't they protect themselves with a spell?" She asked.

"Hermione's parents, and most of her family, are Muggles." Ginny, who had just joined the group, supplied.

"Oops, sorry. I hadn't considered that." Savana said, then hastened to explain further. "All of Aurora Borealis, the grounds and the residents, are protected from mosquitos, and other pests, by protective spells."

"You still have to endure those long, dark, frigid winters. You can't change that with a spell." Ron asserted.

"What! Do you seriously think we live in igloos and wear furs and skins to keep warm?!" Savana was incredulous! She'd heard stories about people, who'd never been to Minnesota, believing that life there was primitive, frigid, etc., but, she had thought they were the property of history, comedy routines, or the ignorant. She never thought anyone would believe them in this day and age! She began to laugh, and ignored the stares from the surronding tables.

Savana continued to chuckle as she explained, "Yes, the daylight hours are shorter in the winter. We recieve about nine hours of sunlight on the winter solistace. (The shortest day of the year.) Our school buildings all have full spectrum lighting to compensate for that. And, while it is cold from November through the end of March, the months we typically experience as winter, the temperature averages at about 8 degrees below 0, Centigrade. We only get a few really cold snaps every winter, and those last for days, not weeks. Even so, it's not like we can't dress for it, or like we have to stay indoors. Anyway, most of the buildings at Aurora Borealis are connected by heated, well lit, underground tunnels. Most of the people I know only take the tunnels when it's really cold, otherwise we start to feel like moles. You'll also notice, I mentioned that winter usually lasts about five months, not eight, or ten. So, it really isn't as bad as some people make it sound."

"It still doesn't sound like someplace where I'd fancy living." Hermione sniffed. She couldn't understand why she felt so antagonistic towards this girl.

"There are also some really beautiful things about living that far north, you know." Savana felt the need to defend her home. "Sure, the daylight isn't as plentiful during the winter, but, without those long, dark nights, we couldn't see the aurora borealis, and that's a light show I wouldn't miss for anything!"

"Wha' da ya mean?" Ron's mouth was full of some other disgusting looking, and smelling, local breakfast food.

"I've read about the aurora borealis, as well as the aurora australis, and seen pictures of them." Hermione said. She felt the need to try to make amends between herself and Savana. "I've never actually seen them, but, the pictures are beautiful."

Savana suspected that Hermione was trying to apologise for the way she had been treating her. Savana, however, decided to let it go, for the time being.

"Pictures don't even come close to capturing the awesome beauty of the northern lights, not even wizard pictures. They're incredible! The sky lights up with shifting, shimmering, bands of color. The light they produce is so bright, it makes even the light of the full moon seem dim in comparison."

"The Native Americans have many different beliefs about just what the aurora borealis really are. My personal favorite is the Inuit Indian belief that the lights are the spirits of unborn children. They are at play in the heavens."1 Savana's eyes shone as she delivered this last bit of information, so, she was rather disappointed when Ron asked. . .

"So, do you go sledging alot during the winter?"

"What's that?! Some exotic sport that you like to indulge in here?" Savana was puzzled.

Ron described the activity.

"Oh, we call that sledding!" Savana exclaimed. "Yeah, we do that, as well as ski, snowmobile, and other things. Sometimes, we go mushing, too." Savana realised, judging from the others' expressions, that they, once again, thought she was kidding them. "That's a term for dog sledding." Savana added, before the rest could say anything else.

"I'm doing all of the talking, here." She continued. "I thought that I got to ask you questions and have you explain things to me. After all, I'm the new kid here!"

"Professor McGonagall did ask me to help show you around and explain the rules to you." Hermione said. She was a prefect again this year, therefore, she was supposed to do things like that. "And now, it's late enough for me to show you to your first class. All

of the sixth year Gryffindors have this class, and a few others, at the same time. So, we can go together. It's Potions class." She added ominously. Her face was a mask of disgust.

Savana couldn't understand the reactions of the others. She loved potions class and had always been very good at it. She said as much to the others as they walked toward their class.

"The problem isn't the course, it's the teacher, Professor Snape." Harry explained to the clueless Savana. "And, just to add to the expirence, this is one of the classes we take at the same time as the sixth year students from Slytherin House. Professor Snape is the Head of Slytherin House, and he favors them."

As the group descended into the dungeon classroom, where potions was taught, Savana began to wonder just how awful this class might be.

...`~*~`...

Harry trudged into the potions classroom, as though he were going to his own execution. He was followed, in similar fashion, by Savana, Ron, and Hermione. He searched the back of the room for a vacant seat. Unfortunately, the only open seats were in the front. The rest of the students, even those from Slytherin, knew better than to sit where they could become easy targets of Professor Snape when he was in a foul mood, which was often. The four reluctantly sat in the only seats available, the front row.

Professor Snape immediately followed them into the classroom and reguarded them in his typically cool and surley manner.

"Just getting to your class ahead of the professor is not the most auspicious way to begin the school term, is it Mr. Potter?" Snape's velvety tone was underlayed with maleficence. "And I would think that you would want to make a better impression, on your first day at a new school. Am I not correct, _Ms._ Walker?" He emphasised the Ms.in a most unpleasant manner.

Harry and Savana both flushed and slid down in their seats. _"Strike 1!"_ Savana thought. She had hoped to avoid Snape's attention by flying under his radar, at least for awhile. Snape's present frontal assult, however, had destroyed any hope of that. She needed to employ a different strategy, if she wanted to survive this class and its instructor. She decided it was time to play the sweet, innocent, young thing.

"I'm sorry, professor. It's my fault, we were all late. Harry, and his friends, were showing me how to get here." Savana had deliberately chosen not to name Hermione and Ron, since Snape was currently ingnoring them and she didn't want to focus any attention on them. "I was lost. This is all so different from my old school! I promise, it won't happen again!" She said demurely, while she thought, _"Hah! The ball's in your court, snake eyes!"_

_"Ms._ Walker," Snape placed the emphasis on the Ms. once again, she noticed, "I should deduct 5 points from Gryffindor for your behavior, however, since this is your first day here, I will give you the benefit of the doubt." Snape had her fixed in his hooded, vulture-like gaze. "I would, however, expect, that for someone whose family was miraculously resurrected from the dead, that you would have a better sense of direction, as well as a better excuse."

_"Strike 2!" _Savana thought. _"Three strikes and you're out!"_ She felt fury welling up inside of her. _"What's his problem?! Neither Harry, nor I, did anything to him! Yet he's treating us like a pair of criminals! And where does he get off announcing secrets about my family to the rest of the world? I hope no one else knows what he's talking about!"_

She thought it would be poetic justice, if something, say...a bottle of permanent, black ink...just happened to spill...all over Snape's head! She stared at just such a container, which rested on the desk behind Snape. But, she felt her concentration break when someone, who was sitting beside her, kicked her leg. She looked out of the corner of her eyes at Hermione, who was doing the same to her.

_"DON'T YOU DARE!!!"_ Hermione silently mouthed at her.

Actually, Hermione was so upset, that the message felt more like a shout, through Savana's mind.

_"All right!" _Savana thought back at her. _"But, if this guy continues like this, I WILL HURT HIM!"_

"STOP THIS NOW!" Hermione thought back to her. _"I'll talk to you about this, after class."_

They both turned their attention back to Professor Snape, who had redirected his focus away from them, and was presently explaining what topics would be covered in the coming year. He then began to describe the potion they would begin making today.

"...a strength potion. It will give you strength and energy when you are weak and tired. But, if a person who possess adequate reserves takes it, it would have the opposite effect upon them." Savana noted that Snape took diabolic glee in delievering this particular bit of information. "They would become extremely weak and tired." He concluded.

Savana began to quickly page through her potions text, until she found the appropriate page. It had sounded very familiar...Yes! She had learned how to make this same strength potion last year. She also knew she didn't want to waste her time reviewing things which she already had down cold. Maybe she could convince Professor Snape to allow her to work on something else that was a little more challenging.

Professor Snape had completed his lecture and the class was moving about, setting up to brew the strength potion. Savana took this opportunity to approach Professor Snape and make her request.

"Yes, _Ms._ Walker, what is it now? You're unable to find what you need? Or, perhaps, you are simply unable to locate the necessary potion recipe?" Snape appeared to think that he was quite witty. He even attempted to smile at his own humor, however, to Savana, it looked more like a sneer.

"No, I can find everything I need, including the recipe." She replied carefully, while thinking about what a pompous, jackass this man was. "I just wanted to know if there was a different potion I could work on." Snape's eyes had narrowed and he no longer appeared amused. Savana decided she had better make her request. "It's just that I've already learned how to make this potion...last year...at Aurora Borealis." She stumbled to a halt, no longer feeling so sure of herself, as Professor Snape's face grew dark and she could see he was extremely perturbed with her. "On second thought..." She began to say, but, it was drown out by Professor Snape's response to her request.

"What's the problem, _Ms._ Walker, is the subject I'm teaching not interesting or advanced enough for you?!"

"No, it's just that I already know how to make this..."

"And you can do it so well that you have nothing left to learn, or perfect?" Snape sneered. "5 point deduction to Gryffindor House! You may thank your new, smart mouthed friend for this present!" Snape sneered while giving the stunned occupants of Gryffindor House a nasty look, which dared them to challenge him.

"What?! That's totally unfair!" Savana was not just stunned, she was furious! "How dare you...?! I only asked you for a more challenging assignment and I did it nicely! No professor at Aurora Borealis would dare to behave in such an irresponsible fashion!" Savana was near tears, she was so angry, and this gnat brained, excuse for a teacher was so unfair! _"Strike 3...Yer out!"_ She thought. It was time to go on the offensive. _"After all, I can't have much more to loose!"_ She had no idea just how wrong she was!

"I'm deducting 10 more points from Gryffindor House for that little temper tantrum. Would you care to try for more? That should make you extremely popular in your new home, Ms. Walker!" Once again Snape had made the Ms. sound like an insult.

Savana stood there sputtering and turning such a deep shade of red that she almost matched her hair. She had never been so angry, embaressed, and insulted in her entire life!

She could hear loud warning shouts, in her mind, from Hermione and Harry. She attempted to get some control over her temper, and might have been successful, if Pansy Parkinson had simply kept her big, fat mouth shut and her opinions to herself.

"Americans are so arrogant and crass!" Pansy said mockingly, in a stage whisper, to Malfoy and his cronies. A large portion of the class, Savana assumed they were all Slytherins, sniggered.

Savana fixed her gaze on the offender.

"_Behave like an adult and ignore that!"_ This time, it was Harry who shouted the warning telepathically.

_ "I can't! I've had as much of this garbage as I can take for one day! I'll leave professor grease monkey alone, for now, but, Jo-jo the dog faced girl is MINE! NOW!"_ Savana mentally shouted back at Harry. _"SHE'S A DEAD WOMAN! Why didn' t Snape deduct points for her little preformance?! She interrupted the class, too!"_

"She's from Slytherin. Snape generally acts as though they can do no wrong." Harry shot back.

Savana spotted an ink well on the desk behind Pansy. She hoped the ink it contained was black and permanent. She also noticed that the students at that desk were busy making their potions. She suspected that even if they saw what she was about to do to Pansy, they wouldn't say anything. They were also from Gryffindor, and more to the point, were not aware of her gifts.

Pansy was wearing her dirty, blond hair in a braid, which fell most of the way down her back.

_"Oh, this is just too easy." _Savana thought, and chuckled to herself. She guided the ink bottle up behind Pansy's back and under the tip of the braid. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked on in horrified amusement as Savana dunked the bottom four inches of Pansy's braid into the ink. She then quickly returned the bottle to where it belonged. As she watched the ink drip onto Pansy's robe and the floor, she became aware of Professor Snape, who was still chewing her out.

"...since you know so much about making potions, you will teach the rest of this section. If you don't do a credible job of it, Gryffindor House will be penalised 100 points and you will be doing two weeks worth of detention. Do I make myself clear?" Professor Snape looked immensely pleased with himself. He only wished he could make this spoiled, little, smart alec take over the class immediately. However, it was almost time for class to end. "I will also be discussing your behavior with Professor Dumbledore. We'll see just how clever he thinks you are." Snape continued ominously. "Class dismissed." He announced. "That includes you." He said to Savana, who still stood there, glaring at him.

Harry tugged on Savana's sleeve, "come on Savana, we'll be late for our next class." He began pulling her toward the door, while she continued to fume. When they reached the door, they could hear a girl down the hall shrieking, "...what has happened to your hair?! The bottom of it is black and wet...and it's all over your robes, too! Yuk! It looks like..." They couldn't hear the last part because Pansy and her companion had taken off, at a dead run, for a rest room. Probably to check out the damage.

Savana giggled, feeling satisfaction because she'd gotten revenge on someone, even if Pansy didn't know that she was responsible for the sorry state of her hair.

"That wasn't funny, Savana!" Hermione hissed at her, as they made their way down the hall.

"Oh, I don't know about that, Hermione. It's about time someone put "Pug" Parkinson in her place. Professor Snape has been rattling all of our cages for years, it's about time someone rattled his." Ron said nonchalantly.

"We can discuss all of that later." Harry said. "What I'd like to know, right now, is how Hermione and I were able to communicate telepathically with Savana during class."

"I was able to communicate with her by using a telepathy spell that I looked up last night." Hermione informed them. "That's why I had to keep eye contact with Savana while I communicated with her. It doesn't explain Harry, though."

"I don't know why I was able to do it." Harry looked confused.

"It wouldn't be the first time you've done something that you didn't know you had a talent for." Hermione said. "Remember the time you discovered that you were a parselmouth, during the duel?"

"I do, even if Harry doesn't." Ron stated emphatically. "Frankly, I don't think anything Harry does should suprise us anymore."

"Thanks for trying to help me out, you guys. I really do appreciate it, even if it didn't seem like it at the time." Savana told them as they approached their next class. Savana hoped that the potions class wasn't an indication of how the whole year would go. It would be bad enough just enduring Professor Snape for the time being, she didn't need anything else. She entered the classroom for The History of Magic feeling a little more hopeful than she had in awhile.

1. Burnham, Robert; Dyer, Alan; Garfinkle, Robert A.; George, Martin; Kanipe, Jeff; Levy, 

David H.: THE NATURE COMPANY GUIDES: BACKYARD ASTRONOMY 


	8. Merlin's Myths

(A/N Harry Potter and associated characters, etc., belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. The only things that belong to me are: the plot of this story, and the characters, who do not appear in Rowlings stories. Ok, people, here's the next chapter, now, go bug someone who owes you money! _)

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Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 8

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Merlin's Myths

Savana followed Hermione, Ron, and Harry to some vacant seats midway back in the classroom. Once they were seated, Ron explained that, while the class was incredibly boring, at least they wouldn't have Professor Snape to deal with.

A ghost floated into the classroom and began to take roll.

"Where's the professor?" Savana whispered to Ron.

"Professor Binns is right there in front, taking roll." Ron whispered back.

"But, that's a ghost!" Savana whispered back.

"Yeah, he still doesn't know he's dead." Ron sniggered.

"Cool! I've never had a ghost for a teacher!" Savana grinned and sat back in her seat.

Professor Binns had written the necessary texts and a class syllabus on the blackboard, then proceeded to explain what he had written there. He then began to lecture on today's topic, Merlin, and Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Savana leaned forward with interest.

"...it is sometimes difficult to separate the myth about Merlin from the reality, especially where Muggle myth is concerned." Professor Binns smiled at his own little joke. "Actually, the wizard world knows much about Merlin..." Professor Binns droned on in this fashion for awhile. He talked about Merlin's background, lineage, early life and so on. 

Savana had begun to feel bored and sleepy. She felt herself drifting off to sleep, but, jerked to full alertness when the phrase _STAFF OF TIME_ floated through her semi-conscious world.

_"Did I hear that, or just imagine it?"_ She thought. Then she refocused on Professor Binns, as he began to wind up his lecture for today.

"...We know that Merlin could predict the future, but, just how he accomplished that has been a matter of debate, as well as some fantastic theories, for years. Some of those theories, especially those of Muggle origin, are quite far fetched. They have one theory, for example, that Merlin knew the future because he aged backwards." 

When Professor Binns completed that statement, there were several comments from the peanut gallery, some more audible than others: "...How ridiculous!...Oh, sure...Like his mother gave birth to a full grown, old man!..."

Professor Binns motioned for silence. "We know that the majority of these theories are wrong. Merlin traveled through time by using The Staff of Time. It allowed him to travel forward, or backward, in time by using it in conjunction with a spell."

"The Staff of Time could be used in other ways, but, I do not have time to go into that today. I do want to tell you, in closing, that historic records from that period are incomplete and many have been lost or destroyed. Because of that, we no longer know where The Staff of Time is, or who, if anyone, is in possession of it. It is most probable that the staff was destroyed by Merlin at, or just before, his death."

Professor Binns then gave them a massive reading assignment and dismissed them for lunch.

...`~*~`...

Savana wasn't happy to recieve a note from Professor Dumbledore during lunch.

"What does it say?" Ron asked. He was eating everything in sight, it seemed.

"He wants to see me later this afternoon, when classes are finished for the day." Savana answered, while folding the note and putting it into her bookbag.

"Did he tell you why he wants to see you?" Harry asked.

"No, but, I doubt it's anything good. Do you think Snape already complained to him about class this morning?" Savana asked nervously.

"It wouldn't surprise me. Snape's such a git, he probably went running to Professor Dumbledore as soon as our class was over." Ron sounded indignant as he said this.

"Well, the entire thing was a bit much." Hermione said.

"What are you, a short adult...our conscience?" Savana questioned Hermione in disbelief.

"You do need to control your temper." Harry said. "And you two need to call a truce. This sniping between you is getting old, fast."

"I'll second that!" Ron added as he dug into a desert on his plate.

"I know, my temper has gotten me into trouble, more often than not. But, I am working on it." Savana said, then diverted the attention to Ron. "Do you always eat this much?!"

"I'm a growing boy!" Ron said with a grin. "Are you going to eat that?"

...`~*~`...

Savana sighed and smoothed some stray hairs back into place along her otherwise smoothly coiffed head. She was frazzled from the past couple of days and would much rather be unwinding in Gryffindor's commonroom, than be standing by the gargoyle outside the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office. He had given her directions for entry, in the note he had sent to her earlier.

"Gummy Bears." She commanded the statue.

It immediately lept aside to reveal the entrance and the unruly hairs sprang out of place again. Savana mounted the stairs with a sense of foreboding and knocked on the office door.

"Enter, please." The voice, which responded to her knock, was older and cultured.

Savana opened the door and entered with a sense of trepidation.

"Miss Walker, I presume? I am pleased to make your acquaintance." Professor Dumbledore looked kindly at her over his half-moon spectacles and Savana began to relax a little. "I just wish it was under better circumstances. Please, sit down."

Savana stiffened and sat in the chair which Professor Dumbledore indicated.

"I would ask how things are going for you here, but, I suspect you know part of the reason that I've requested your presence here." He said, while gazing benignly at her.

"Professor Snape..." Savana croaked.

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Chief Minnehaha said that you are a very gifted young woman." Savana smiled tenatively. "But, that your temper is still a bit of a problem. Even though, _"you've come a long way"_...his phrase, not mine. I gather that was the problem this morning, in potions class?"

Savana found her voice and rushed to tell her side of the story while Professor Dumbledore listened attentively. Part of her attempted to evaluate Professor Dumbledore and to compare him with Chief Minnehaha.

She decided that they were alike in many important respects. They were both: good listeners; respectful of students, as well as faculty and staff; older (maybe that should be respected elders?); and definately, wise. She hoped her first impression of him was correct, because she definately needed a mentor, and Alex just wasn't mature enough.

He was only 22 years old, after all, and still discovering the world for himself. Anyway, he was her brother and even though she admired and respected him, there was still the matter of all the pranks and tricks he'd played on her when they were younger.

Savana had finished telling her side of the story, and looked expectantly at Professor Dumbledore.

He smiled at her, as he said, "I have been told there are three sides to every story: your side; their side; and the truth, which tends to be somewhere in between."

_"Well, at least he's not blaming me for everything."_ Savana thought, with some relief.

"I will discuss the entire situation with Professor Snape and I will have him drop the penalties to Gryffindor House. Professor Snape, however, must be allowed the opportunity to _'save face'_. Therefore, you will be teaching the rest of the class on Strength Potions." Savana made a face, indicating her distaste. "Come now, " he gently chided her. "Chief Minnehaha said he felt that you have the potential to become a teacher, a very fine one at that. He told me you've done an excellent job tutoring younger students, especially those who were, shall we say, less than gifted?" 

Savana grudgingly smiled. "Well, I do enjoy tutoring them. They can be so cute! But, teaching a whole class, especially one made up of kids my age, and some of those Slytherin kids...!"

"Hush, my dear, you will do a fine job. And, I assure you, Professor Snape will make sure that you are treated with respect. Please, keep in mind, you also bear partial responsibility for that scene this morning, and because of that, it is your responsibility to repair as much of the damage you caused as possible, as well as to apoligise." His gaze studied her over the rims of his glasses, as he said this.

"I will try, but, I don't know how successful I'll be." Savana muttered.

"That is all I ask of you." He replied. 

Savana felt comfortable enough with Professor Dumbledore that she decided to bring up some of the subjects that were upsetting, and/or, confusing her. "What is the story with Professor Snape? Why did he come down so hard on Harry and me? And why did he tell everyone about my family?" She asked her questions with the rapid fire of an Uzi, and she wailed as the frusterations of the past couple of days bubbled to the surface.

"I will discuss your family situation and the need for secrecy with Professor Snape. We will also figure out a way to control the damage from this unfortunate incident." Professor Dumbledore nodded sagely at Savana and she wasn't quite as filled with panic as she had been.

"As for Professor Snape and your friend, Harry..." He continued, settling comfortably into his chair, "that is a long story. I will be happy to share what I can of it, with you. If that is what you desire?"

Savana nodded, her aqua eyes bright with curiosity.

"First, however, I am going to have the kitchen send up some dinner, since, by the time our little chat is finished, the dinner hour will be long past." 

He sent a message to the kitchens, then he sat back down and began to tell Savana the long, and complicated, stories of Severus Snape, James and Harry Potter, and a few things about her parents and aunt, as well.

"...so, you see, Savana, Harry is a very powerful wizard, much more powerful than he realises. It is my job, as well as that of several others here, to protect him, teach him, and to provide as normal a childhood as is possible, since his parents are no longer able to do that for him."

_"So, try not to screw that up."_ Savana thought. 

At least, now, she had a better understanding of what was going on here, and why. That knowlege had helped her to relax, somewhat. The information about Lord Voldemort, and his Deatheaters, however, chilled her to her core. No wonder, her parents had never told her about them, until recently. And then, they had only told Alex and her as little as possible. She now understood just how much danger they all faced.

"I'll see you out now, Savana." Professor Dumbledore interrupted her musings. "After all, you have a lesson plan to prepare, as well as homework to do. So, I will not keep you."

...`~*~`...

Savana walked into the Gryffindor common room and looked around as she dropped her books by one of the fireplace chairs and sat down opposite the room's only occupants, Ginny and Stellaluna.

Stellaluna hung, upside down, from a perch near the fireplace and next to Ginny. Stellaluna was happily eating a piece of fruit. Savana watched as the little fruit bat greedily bit into the ripe, red, pulpy, piece of mango, which she held between her thumbs.

"Ginny, Stellaluna looks so much healthier than when you got her!" Savana exclaimed.

The bat looked up at them upon hearing her name. She licked the juice from her muzzle with her long, pink tongue, then went back to her breakfast. 

Ginny grinned. "I just love her and I couldn't be happier with her! She's so cute! I love just sitting and watching her."

"You should bring her down to see Alex." Savana said and extended a finger, so she could scratch the bat's little head. Stellaluna sniffed the finger, to see if there happened to be any food there. There wasn't, so she allowed her head to be scratched. "Alex will be impressed with the good job you've done with her."

"I'll bet that Stellaluna would like to see Alex, too." Ginny said. She picked up the book that she had allowed to fall into her lap when Savana sat down. "Please, excuse me, but, I really need to finish this reading and get to bed. It's getting late."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Savana agreed. "I've got more than enough to keep me busy, too."

It was a good thing she didn't need to worry about teaching the potions class for a few days, she needed to get what homework was due tomorrow finished, then go to bed. She felt exhausted.

She had spent the past hour, or so, reading and studying when Ron came in.

"I see you're finally back. We were wondering about you when you didn't show up for dinner." Ron said, by way of greeting.

"You weren't at dinner?" Ginny asked. She sounded surprised.

"Of course she wasn't there, you git!" Ron sounded like the perinnel older brother. "If Savana had been there, you'd have seen her, wouldn't you?"

"Oops! You're right." Ginny looked a little embarresed. "You missed such a scene!" She continued, then she stopped and paid some attention to Stellaluna. Who was nibbling at Ginny in a search for more attention, or perhaps, food.

"Well, are either of you going to tell me about it, or am I suppose to read your minds?" Savana demanded.

"It's not as if you couldn't." Ron said as he slouched into a chair and chuckled at his own, ingenius comment.

Savana and Ginny both glared at him.

"You know better than to go shooting your mouth off about any of that!" Savana hissed at him.

"What! There's no one else here!" Ron studdered in disbelief.

"What if someone walked in on us, or cast an evesdropping spell?" Savana was quite irritated with him.

"An _evesdropping _spell?! I've never heard of such a thing, though knowing it would be more than a little handy." Ron grinned as he thought of several profitable ways he could make use of such a spell. "I would love to listen in on the Slytherins strategy session before our quidditch match against them." He continued with an evil smile.

"It's a difficult spell to master, and it has its limitations." Savana explained, brusquely. "However, such a spell does exist and could get us into trouble. As for reading your mind, I'm wiped out and don't feel like playing games, so spill."

"Pansy Parkinson, one of the Slytherin girls..." Ginny began, only to be interrupted by Savana.

"I've had the misfortune to make her aquanitance. I know who you're talking about."

"Oh, that's right...anyway, she showed up at dinner looking like a train wreck! She had cut almost a foot off of her hair and did a terrible job of it. The ends were really uneven and some of them were black. Her hair was also sticking out around her head, like some bizzare, bird's nest and when anyone asked her about it, she would get really angry and start crying. She said during potions class someone stuck her hair into a bottle of permanent, black ink!" Ginny began laughing at this point in her story. "She said it was you that did it Savana, but, Harry told her to prove it and she couldn't, so Ron told her to shut her pie hole. Anyway, Pansy tried to wash the stuff out of her hair, with several different soaps and potions. They must have reacted with each other, because her hair turned green and bushy, now she can't do anything to fix it! She spent the afternoon with Madam Pomfrey, who tried to repair the damage. But, by that time Pansy had done so much damage with her previous attempts, that the only thing she could tell Pansy to do was to cut her hair and wait for the rest of the damage to grow out! Madam Pomfrey said that she would keep looking for a way to repair Pansy's hair, but, she doesn't hold out a lot of hope for her."

"It'll take forever for her to live this down and she really has no one to blame for it, but herself!" Ron was laughing hard, but, he was trying to keep the noise down, lest he wake anyone, especially Professor McGonagall.

Savana chocked down laughter as she quietly said, "It looks like Pansy did a bigger number on herself than I even thought of doing to her."

"So, you did dunk her hair in the ink?" Ginny giggled.

"Yeah, but, she's the only one responsible for the real damage to her hair." Savana laughed quietly, then proceeded to tell Ginny the rest of the story, ending with Pansy's friend shrieking in the hallway. "And on that note, I'll say good night to you since I'm very tired and I hear my bed calling to me." And, with that said, Savana picked up her books and headed up to her bed for a well deserved rest.


	9. Malfoy's Folly

(A/N Harry Potter, and asso. characters, do not belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. The only things that do belong to me are: Savan, Alex, Christina, Gavin, Fiona, and some assorted pets who are not in the books. The story and plot are mine and if anyone wishes to borrow from these, or the characters, they must ask me first.) 

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Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

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Chapter 9

**Malfoy's Folly**

Two days later, as Savana was finishing breakfast and desperately reviewing her lesson plan for the dreaded, upcoming potions class, Pansy and two of her friends stopped by her table. They wore unpleasant expressions on their faces.

"Well, if it isn't the little professor!" Pansy sneered, while her two friends snickered.

Savana thought Pansy's friends very closely resembled Hollywood hookers. She wisely decided, however, to refrain from comment. Instead, in a cynical tone of voice, she said, "Pansy, I've been meaning to tell you how much I _love_ your new hair style. It's so punk! Why are you hiding it under a hat?"

_"And did you get the dog biscuts I sent as an apology?"_ She thought, and smiled about it, but, even she knew better than to put that particular thought into words. She decided to allow the trio of twits to reach their own conclusions.

"You know, quite well, that what happened to my hair is all your fault!" Pansy shouted at her, with no pretense of civility.

The other late dinners, there weren't many of them, turned and looked to see what was happening.

"I would suggest, Pansy, that you refrain from making public accusations. Unless, you can prove it." Savana said icily, and loudly enough for everyone there to hear.

Pansy flushed with anger. "You'll get yours, know-it-all." She addressed Savana in a threatening tone and manner. "Just wait until you try to teach potions class! You, and your little friends, will pay for what you've done to me!" Then she, and her friends, flounced away.

"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"1 Savana wagged her head and muttered to no one in particular. 

She reached for her now cold, cup of coffee and took a healthy swig of it. "Yeech!" She choked it down and made a face as she pushed the noxious brew away. _"If I can't get them to make a decent cup of coffee soon," _she thought, _"I'll go into withdrawl."_

Then, she gathered her things and left for her class, all the while, fighting extra large butterflies, which churned fitfully in her stomach.

...`~*~`...

Savana entered the potions classroom, with trepidation. She began to set up for her class as the rest of the potions students entered the classroom and sat down. The noise level rose exponentially as the room filled with students. 

Professor Snape entered and seated himself in a chair near the door. The class quieted as he did so. The air was heavy with expectation and all eyes were on Savana and Professor Snape. It appeared, to the uniniated, that a great preformance was about to unfold and no one wanted to miss a moment of it.

"The class is all yours, Ms. Walker. You may proceed." He smiled unpleasently at her and nodded toward the front of the classroom.

Savana cleared her throat and began her presentation. Almost immediately, there was some noise and muttering from some of the areas which were heavily populated by the Slytherins. Surprisingly, Professor Snape glared at the offenders. They got the message and immediately stopped their planned insurrection.

Savana picked up where she had left off and began to feel much more comfortable as she went on with her lesson plan. Then, she became aware of a disturbance on the other side of the front demonstration desk. She continued talking as she moved unobtrusively toward the source of the noise. It appeared to be coming from a small crate, which was on the floor, next to the desk.

She was aware of giggling and muffled laughter coming from those same Slytherin quarters. She felt a sense of foreboading as she reached down and unlatched the top of the crate. She had stopped talking and given up even the pretense of trying to teach. The laughter intensified as she pulled back the top of the crate, to reveal a very bedraggled and upset hawk. And, to make matters worse, it was a bright, kelly green! Savana gasped, as she recognised Mariah.

Tears filled her eyes, as she gently lifted the upset hawk out of the crate and cradled it to her chest. She was mindless of the sharp talons and beak, as she did so. 

"Are you all right?" Savana murmured to Mariah, as she attempted to assess any damage to the hawk. 

She felt fury building within her as the laughter increased, and a few, nasty comments reached her ears. "...since you like to turn people's hair green, we did the same to your hawk...now it's the proper color, the color of champions...it's green with envy, of Slytherin House..."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione also gasped when the saw Mariah. They then turned their collective attention on Professor Snape, expecting to see him smiling at the drama playing our before them. They were shocked to see that his face was almost purple and that he was apoplectic with rage! Their amazement heightened when they saw that Professor Dumbledore was standing behind Professor Snape, and he DID NOT look happy!

"I wonder how long he's been standing there?" Ron whispered to Harry and Hermione. They shrugged in response.

Savana was so furious with what the Slytherins had done to her precious bird, that she saw red! As increasingly violent thoughts of revenge filled her consciousness, the room, and everything in it, began to shake with increasing force. Then she felt a peculiar dampening sensation come over her mind. It was as though someone had thrown a heavy blanket over both Savana and her emotions.

_"Stop this, now!" _Commanded a familiar voice, within her mind. She looked over toward where Professor Dumbledore stood and noted that his attention was largely focused on her.

_"They fired the first shot! This is war!" _Savana flashed back at him.

_"We can not have division within our own ranks, or, we will most certainly fail in our ultimate quest against Lord Voldemort and his forces! These continued spats, between you students, will destroy what hard won unity we have, so far, been able to achieve." _Professor Dumbledore sent back to her. She realised, with dismay, that he sounded very weary. _"Now, stop this immediately, please."_

Savana had the grace to look embarrassed at her outburst and calmed her emotions, as well as the resulting room tremors.

Professor Dumbledore began to speak outloud. "Savana, you may go and see to your hawk. I think you've had enough for today."

"Gryffindor House, you are dismissed and the residents of Slytherin House will remain in their seats. I wish to discuss this unfortunate incident, and its consequences, with you."

Savana headed for Hagrid's hut, and Alex, as quickly as she could. She needed more than Alex's expertise with animals at this time. She needed his comfort, because right now, she hated it here and wanted nothing more than to go home. She contemplated contacting her parents.

...`~*~`...

"What was that all about?! Has Slytherin House declared war on Savana, or, is it just _Pugsley _Parkinson, acting out?" Ron quietly demanded of his companions as they entered the hallway.

"Be quiet!" Harry commanded both Ron and Hermione, since it was apparent that she also had something to say. "I can tell you exactly what was going on, but, not here."

"What do you suppose Professor Dumbledore is going to do to them?" Ron knew he was safe asking this question, as it was on the minds of everyone from Gryffindor House. 

"I hope he deducts a thousand points from their house and gives them a year's worth of detention!" He continued with a great sense of satisfaction. "Did you see Professor Snape's face? He looked like he was going to have a stroke, he was so angry!"

"It can't be very uplifting to have the Head Master observe a scene like that in your classroom, or, to have him step in and take charge because everything is so out of control." Hermione told them. Her tone of voice indicated her distress.

"I think there is much more going on here than any of us, including Savana, realises." Harry spoke gravely. "Before we discuss anymore of this, we need to go somewhere private." He continued as he ushered them toward the front door.

Once they had exited the building, they walked down toward Hagrid's hut. They suspected Savana had gone to Alex, for comfort, as well as help with Mariah. And Alex spent a great deal of his time working with Hagrid.

There were very few people outdoors, so, their walk to Hagrid's hut also provided an excellent opportunity for conversation, with little chance of being overheard by anyone. Harry seized the opportunity and told the others what had occurred between Professor Dumbledore and Savana in the classroom. He also gave them his take on everything that had happened.

"So, Professor Dumbledore is a telepath?! Dosen't that beat all?" Ron chuckled.

"It certainly explains alot." Hermione added. "I've always wondered how he seems to know what we're thinking, as well as everything that happens around here. It does appear to be a logical explaination, as far as Professor Dumbledore is concerned, but, it doesn't explain you, Harry. Why are you suddenly able to communicate telepathically?" Hermione sounded perplexed.

"I don't know." Harry responded. "I guess, I should ask Savana about it. She knows alot more about telepathy and telekinesis than we do."

"She's too upset right now, to ask about anything." Hermione stated with an air of athority. "So, in the mean time, I'll read everything I can find about telepathy and telekinesis." 

Ron thought that Hermione's response was typical of her.

By this time, they had reached Hagrid's hut and they knocked on the door.

"Well, well." Hagrid said, by way of greeting as he opened the door. "Kinda figered yeh'd be 'long, when S'vana an' her bird turned up."

He showed them into the kitchen area where they found Alex, examining Mariah.

"...for the most part, she's just upset and could use some rest, as well as peace and quiet. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the color, they used a spell to change it. If I try to change her back, without knowing which spell was used, she'll end up looking like Pansy Parkinson's hair." Alex said and shrugged.

"Professor Dumbledore was as angry as I've ever seen him when he dismissed us from Potions class today. I suspect, if you were to ask him to find out what spell the Slytherins used, he'd do it, Alex." Harry said.

He then noticed a white rat with spots on its back, and what looked like a smudge of dirt on its nose, sitting on Fang's head, eating a berry. It finished the berry, washed its face, and lept onto the table, searching for more treats. Mariah eyed the rat and reached for it with her beak.

"Hey! No!" Ron shouted and reached for the rat. He wanted to catch it, before Mariah ate it for lunch. 

He couldn't believe that Alex, of all people, didn't realise that the hawk saw the rat as fast food, to go! So, he was even more amazed than the others, when the rat grasped Mariah's beak with its forepaws and began to groom it. It was even more surprising that the hawk, not only accepted the rat's attentions, she reciprocated them! He stared at the incredible sight, slack-jawed with disbelief.

"You had better shut your mouth before a bug flies into it, Ron." Harry nudged him and smiled. 

"All right, Orion, enough of this love fest." Alex laughed as the rat turned its head and gazed at him. "Come here, Orion." Alex crooned.

The rat scampered across the table toward Alex and its spots began to glow with a bright, electric blue, light.

"O.K., now I get it!" Ron muttered and slapped himself upside his head, in a jesture of stupidity. "Orion's an enchanted rat and he's yours, isn't he?" 

Alex grinned, as Orion now sat upon his shoulder, happily chowing down a piece of cheese. "Ah ha! He sees the light!" 

The others groaned at Alex's pun.

"Pee-yew!" Savana held her nose, as though something stank, and muttered with distain. There was, however, a hint of a smile playing upon her lips. 

She took a long draft of the steaming beverage in the cup that she cradled with both of her hands. "Alex, this is the first, decent cup of coffee I've had since I got here. And, considering how bad I thought your coffee was when we lived in the states, that's saying alot!" She smiled at her brother. 

"I don't recall your coffee as being anything to write home about either." Alex teased her back.

"Yeh'd all better get back to theh castle. Yer nex' class'll be startin' soon." Hagrid admonished them.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron gathered their things and started toward the door.

"Aren't you coming, Savana?" Ron asked, when she made no move to join them.

"No. Professor Dumbledore sent a message to tell me that I don't need to go back to class until after lunch. He wanted me to use the time to calm down, so, I think I'll stay here awhile longer. You guys should go on without me." Savana informed them.

Hermione thought Savana sounded fatigued and could use the break, so, she re-joined Ron and Harry, as they left for class.

...`~*~`...

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had overheard the complaining of the sixth year Slytherins during lunch. The Slytherins had bitterly discussed the punishment that Professor Dumbledore had imposed upon them for, what they considered to be, a harmless, little, prank. The discussion was laced with murderous looks, directed toward the Gryffindors and they were glad Savana had chosen to eat lunch with Hagrid and Alex at the hut.

Harry just hoped that, for the sake of Savana's stomach, Alex had prepared the meal, and not Hagrid. Hagrid was notorious for his terrible cooking. However, none of them would ever tell him that, they would never injure his feelings over such a small matter.

They had quickly finished their lunch and walked rapidly down to Hagrid's hut, so they could tell Savana what they'd heard during their meal. It was convenient that they needed to go there anyway, because their next class, The Care of Magical Creatures, was taught in that location, by Hagrid.

Harry liked Hagrid alot, but, he didn't like his class. Hagrid had a poor track record when it came to choosing appropriate, and safe, animals for the students to work with. Naturally, Hagrid never saw the problem, at least, not from their point of view. What could they expect from a man who treated a baby dragon like it was his own child?

Harry mentally reviewed some of Hagrid's past choices for the Care of Magical Creatures classes. Most recently, in fact, it had been just last year, Hagrid had bought in six Pegasae.2 They probably would have been harmless enough, but, predictably, there was always one student in the group who was bent upon being a jackass. More often than not, that student seemed to be from Slytherin House. In that particular instance, it had been Pansy Parkinson.

Hagrid had informed the class that pegasae preferred male riders over female and had told the girls in the group to keep their distance from the winged horses. Pansy, however, had waited until Hagrid was occupied elsewhere, then proceeded to mount one of the animals. She was determined to show everyone else what an experienced horsewoman she was. The pegasus, however, was unimpressed with her equestrian skills. He had flicked his wings and sent Pansy flying. She had landed in a pile of used straw, but, still ended up in the hospital wing for weeks, with a shattered shoulder and back injuries.

Before that, the first year Hagrid taught the class, there was the incident with Draco Malfoy and the hippogriff, Buckbeak. Draco had ingnored Hagrid's admonition to be polite to the beasts. He had insulted Buckbeak and ended up with a broken arm. His father had gotten the Minister of Magic to order Buckbeak destroyed and Hagrid sacked, as a result of Draco's arrogance. 

Then there were those nasty Blast Ended Skrewts, and so on.

Harry was determined to be prepared for the worst this year. He had a potion to neutralise giant spider bites, providing they didn't make a meal of him first; a spell to protect him from the blast of blast ended skrewts; and a copy of his Last Will & Testament, in case they were studying sea serpants, dragons, or any other exotic creature, which he didn't know enough about to prepare for the worst.

He wished that, just this once, Hagrid would choose a gentle, but interesting, creature for them to study, or, in lieu of that, they wouldn't have to be in a combined class with the Slytherins.

He sighed as Hermione knocked on the hut's door. He had a premonition that this year's class wouldn't be any improvement on the previous ones.

Savana opened the door and asked them in. She told them that Alex and Hagrid were out preparing for their upcoming class and that she wasn't allowed to tell them what animal they'd be studying. Alex had informed her that he'd make her clean the barns until Christmas if she said anything. That was something she would prefer to leave to others.

"We've got to tell you what Professor Dumbledore did to the Slytherins! We heard about it at lunch." The words rushed out of Ron's mouth, as soon as he sat down at the table. "He came down on them SO HARD!" He further blurted.

"Great! I'll bet everyone in Slytherin House hates me now!" Savana muttered ruefully.

"No, the majority of them are actually decent people." Hermione explained. "Unfortunately, the ones you've run up against, are the same ones who've been giving us trouble since we began our schooling here. Their dislike of you, is partially based upon their dislike of us."

"It also appears that those were the only ones involved in this morning's retaliation." She concluded.

"Professor Dumbledore culled out the guilty ones,then dismissed the rest of the Slytherins before he addressed them." Harry explained. "It sounded as though he gave them a pretty good dressing down before he told them what their punishment would be. He deducted 50 points from Slytherin House for each student involved in the trouble, then he gave each of them two months of detention which will be supervised, jointly, by Hagrid and Dobby." 

_"Finally! Someone had gotten to the meat of the story!" _Savana thought, but, outloud she asked, "who is Dobby?"

"He's the head house elf." Hermione explained. "The Slytherins involved, all consider the work done by the house elves to be beneath their social status, so, they are furious! I think the whole thing is perfect! Most of their families have house elves in their service, and they treat them horribly!"3 

"Oh, great! Hermione is off on her crusade again!" Ron groaned. "I like the fact that Hagrid is in charge of them, too. I hope he makes them clean the barns, daily! That'll take them down a few notches. It's hard to look high and mighty when your boots are covered in dung!" He laughed at the delicious image his statement illicted in his mind.

"I hate to break this up, but, we'd better get outside. Our class will begin soon." Savana said, and they all went out the door and over to the barn where the rest of the sixth year Gryffindor students had gathered.

"Where are the Slytherins?" Neville asked, while visually searching for them.

"I hope they've been re-assigned, to a different class." Someone else chimmed in.

"...think they might be cutting class as a protest..." Someone else asked.

"I hope they don't even show up." Harry muttered.

"No such luck." Ron said. "Look over there." He pointed and the rest followed his finger with their gaze. 

The Slytherins were approaching them as a group. They appeared to be curious, and a bit anxious, as to what Hagrid would expose them to this year, with the exception of a few, who cast venomous looks at Savana. Harry just hoped he'd survive the experience in one piece!

Hagrid began to tell the students they'd be studying a very unusual animal this year, one who was rare and not native to the British Isles.

"Hagrid, what are we studying?" Hermione asked warily.

"Ah, North American Thunder Birds! An' way'll ya see 'em! Theh're cute 'lil beasties, theh 're!" Hagrid said with a wide smile. 

Then he whistled and Alex came out of the barn. He was carrying a crate and had a large, gray bird, which was about the size of a mature bald eagle, perched on his shoulder.

Savana noted that the girls seemed much more focused on her brother, than on the bird.

That included Hermione, so, Savana elbowed her in the ribs, a little harder than was necessary.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?!" Hermione hissed at her.

"Because it's a little too early in the day for star gazing, that's why!" Savana hissed at her. "Besides that, he's too old..." The rest of her comment was cut off by Hagrid.

"...theh 'sis Alex Burck-Walker." Hagrid finished the introduction.

"Now, look at what you did! I missed the introduction!" Hermione hissed at Savana again. "Be quiet and leave me alone! I don't want to miss anything else!"

Savana haunched her shoulders, sighed, and stuck out her lower lip, but, she did honor Hermione's request. That didn't stop her, however, from furtively looking around at the other girls. 

__

"They look like a bunch of lovesick cows!" She thought._ "You'd think he was a rock star, the way they're practically drooling over him!" _She made a small noise of disgust, and she focused her attention on Alex, who was explaining a few things about thunder birds.

"The Native Americans believed that thunder birds created the sound of thunder when they flapped their wings, hence, their name. We know, now, that isn't the case. However, these birds are far from harmless and they must be treated with respect. Chia," Alex indicated the bird who sat patiently on his shoulder, "is only here because she wants to be, and because she respects me..."

__

"And because you freed her from a trap and nursed her back to health!" Savana thought darkly.

_"Savana, stop it!"_ Alex gave her a warning look, then returned to his lecture. "...and

I respect her. They are quite powerful and can cause alot of damage, when they desire it. Their beaks and talons are dangerous enough, but, they also create high voltage electricity, enough to kill a man and to stun a dragon." Alex paused then, to allow the comments of amazement to die down. 

Savana noticed that the color drained from Harry's face and Ron appeared ready to run for his life. Hermione, typically, was flipping through a book, searching for information on thunder birds. She hadn't noticed Draco Malfoy, who was simply gazing at her, while ignoring Alex entirely.

"The electric current is generated by specialized spines which are located under their wings and on their tails. If you don't learn anything else here today, remember to NEVER touch those spines, even on the chicks, or you'll be BAR-B-QUED! That's kinda like being french fried, for those of you who don't speak Texan." Alex drawled, to the delight of the ladies, with the exception of Savana, who'd heard it before. The boys, however, made noises like they were going to loose their lunches.

"O.K., I get the hint!" Alex said with a laugh. "But, I was serious about the spines."

Alex continued talking about thunder birds, what they could do, and what to be avoided. He finally caught Draco's interest when he mentioned that thunder bird feathers were a crucial ingrediant in a potion which worked as an amplifier to most magic spells. 

Draco, unfortunately, had missed the preceding part, when Alex had told the class that to get the feather, you needed to ask the thunder bird for it and the bird would decide whether, or not, you were worthy to recieve it. You couldn't just take one, even a chick would retaliate in that situation.

Draco had to get one of those feathers! His father would be so impressed with him, if Draco were to present him with a thunder bird feather! Perhaps, it would even ingratiate him with Lord Voldemort himself! Draco entertained some visions of himself as the mighty hero and he began to plot just how he would obtain a feather, preferably, today.

Hagrid had unlatched the crate while Alex was speaking. Now, he bent to remove the top as the students pressed forward for a better view of the crate's contents. They were greeted by a series of chirps, squawks, and the flapping of just developing wings. Alex reached into the box and brought out one of the small, downy, gray and yellow, puffballs, with some mature feathers just begining to appear. He held the chick up to Chia, who briefly checked it over. Alex then held the chick up for the students to see it.

"Who would like to hold the chick?" Alex asked. The students looked at him as though he'd lost his mind. "It's O.K., they won't hurt you, and neither will Chia, as long as you follow the rules I just told you about. Now, any takers?"

"I will!" Savana volunteered, and she eagerly worked her way to the front of the group. She had never seen a thunder bird before. Alex handed her the chick, which she cradled in her hands as she cooed softly to it.

Ron nudged Harry and whispered. "If looks could kill, Savana'd be a goner. They must not realise he's..."

"Quiet, you git!" Harry cut him off.

"Oops!" Ron muttered. Fortunately, no one seemed to be paying any attention to them.

Alex had invited everyone to come forward and meet Chia and the one chick. He also explained that this chick was more of an extrovert than its two siblings, whom he would introduce to the class once the chicks had the opportunity to adjust to their new surroundings. Soon everyone, except Draco, was engrossed with the strange and fascinating birds.

Draco decided to take advantage of this and put Plan A into action. He snuk around behind everyone and quietly opened the crate. Inside of it, he saw two more thunder bird chicks. He quickly grasped some feathers on the chick closest to him and yanked! He opened his hand and smiled greedily at the two feathers contained therein.

Before he could make his escape, however, he saw a vison of the thunder bird chick in his mind and it said: _"This is pay back, Dork!"_

Then, he was hit by an enormous blast from the thunder bird chick! The blast sent him flying, a good 12 meters, into a tree at the edge of the forbidden forest!

Chia spread her wings and flew over to her angry, frightened chick, at about the same moment. It was an amazing sight! During the time she was airborn, she radiated pulses of yellow, red and blue light! 

Alex's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped when he saw Draco, hanging by his pant leg from the limb of a tree. Draco was still emiting some stray electric bursts and smoking like a char broiled steak. 

Alex hurriedly grabbed Hagrid and ran over to Draco, after telling Savana to put the third thunder bird chick back with its mother.

The class laughed, as they watched the comedy of errors, commited by Hagrid and Alex, in their attempts to retrieve Draco from the tree. Every time one of them touched Draco, they recieved a small shock. Alex, finally, pulled out his wand in frusteration and blasted the branch which Draco hung from. That caused the branch to break, and Draco to fall to the ground with it.

Then Alex shouted: "Class dismissed!" As Hagrid and he marched Draco, who was still coughing up smoke, off to the hospital wing.

The class began to drift away as Savana went to return the thunder birds to the barn. She overheard many derogatory comments about Malfoy while she was doing this.

Harry, Ron and Hermione waited outside of the barn for Savana, so she could walk back to the castle with them. They were a little suprised when she began laughing hysterically as she closed the barn door on her way out. She hadn't done much more than giggle during the whole situation, why then, was she screaming with laughter now?

"I think she was afraid of startling the thunder birds, until now." Hermione suggested to the others.

"Yeeha! He looked like Wyle E. Coyote 4 after one of his rockets blows him up!" Savana shrieked. The others stared at her blankly, even though they had just been laughing at Malfoy's folly themselves. They had no idea, however, what Savana was referring to. "You know, 

when the coyote tries to blow up the road runner...I guess ya gotta be there..." She trailed off. "At any rate, Malfoy deserved what happened to him, for turning Mariah green!"

"Ah, Savana," Hermione said, "Draco had nothing to do with that."

"There were only five Slytherins involved: Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and two of her girl friends." Harry told Savana. "As a matter of fact, Draco told them he wanted nothing to do with it. He also told them, not to do it."

"Leave it to Malfoy to screw-up in reverse!" Ron said, shaking his head. "Just when we think we've got him figured out, he goes and does the decent thing! Who'd have thought it?"

They all had a good laugh about the entire experience as they walked back up to the castle, discussing their interesting, and entertaining afternoon.

1. Baum, Frank; THE WIZARD OF OZ; MGM Studios.

2. Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Pegasae-The plural form of Pegasus, a winged horse found in Greek 

mythology.

3. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE: Hermione had begun a campaign for the better 

treatment of, and rights for, house elves.

4. Wyle E. Coyote: A character in the Loony Tunes, Road Runner, cartoons. His attempts to capture the road 

runner always backfire on him.


	10. Ravens and Dream Catchers

(A/N Harry Potter, and other assorted characters, do not belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling. The only things in this story that do belong to me are the plot and characters not seen in Rowling's books. Now, go do something constructive, like forking over your kid's overdue allowence!( ^_^)

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 10

Ravens & Dream Catchers

Harry settled back on his bed and let thoughts drift through his mind while he waited for sleep to come. His life had finally begun to settle into a routine during the past few weeks and he was learning some interesting, and useful, things in his classes.

He had spent the past two weeks overseeing the tryouts for the open spots on the Gryffindor House quidditch team, then practicing with the new team. He smiled as he thought about them and looked over in Ron's direction, even though it was too dark to see anything.

Ron was finally a member of the house team and Harry couldn't be happier about it! Ron had been in love with the game since long before Harry had ever met him. Harry felt it was only fitting that Ron now had the opportunity to play for the Gryffindor team. Harry, and the other returning players, had selected Ron as one of the two beaters the team needed to recruit. Their old beaters, Fred and George Weasley, had graduated the previous spring.

Harry chuckled quietly to himself when he thought about their other new beater, Savana. The quidditch field was a good place for that firery temprament. He thought that Savana could rid herself of some of her demons there. Beside that, she had some experience with the game. Savana had been a beater for her house team at her previous school.

The team looked good this year, so, Harry was excited about their first match, which would be against Ravenclaw, tomorrow morning.

Professor Dumbledore, and the powers that be, had decided to change the quidditch schedules this year. The season would begin earlier in the school year and the matches would be played in a different order than they had been in the past. 

Harry suspected that they had engineered the new schedule in order to guarentee that the Gryffindor-Slytherin match was the final game of the season. This game was, traditionally, the biggest game of the year, due to the rivalries involved, and having it scheduled as the last match of the season would certainly add to the suspense of the entire contest.

Harry began to feel overcome with a warm, comfortable, sleepy, sensation. He smiled, then rolled over and fell into a deep sleep.

...`~*~`...

Harry jerked into full awakness. His heart was hammering so hard and fast that it felt like it would burst out of his rib cage at any moment. He was completely drenched with sweat, gasping for breath and filled with an overwhelming sense of dread. He stared into the surrounding darkness, as he tried to recall the dream which had caused him to wake in his current state.

He recalled being in a clearing of some sort. He hadn't gotten a clear view because it was night and the only sources of light were the stars and the half moon in the sky. He further recalled the robed and hooded figures of two men, they looked like Death Eaters. Then, one of the robed figures had turned into a large, black bird, which screamed and flew away amid colorful, brightly strobing lights. Harry was not able to recall anything further, even though he tried to do so for quite awhile, and he eventually drifted off into a troubled sleep.

Harry awoke the following morning feeling groggy and deeply troubled. He needed to talk to Professor Dumbledore about the dream, but, he wouldn't have the chance to do so until after their quidditch match today.

Harry pulled on his quidditch robes and made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, where he joined the rest of the Gryffindor House team. They were all psyched up for the first match of the season, but, Harry felt off for some reason. The most likely cause was his dream from the night before. He simply couldn't shake the oppressive feelings the entire experience had left him with. 

Hermione had noticed that Harry was preoccupied with something that troubled him. She went over to see if she could help to ease his mind, so he could concentrate on the all important, upcoming match. She asked Harry what was on his mind and he told her about the dream. 

"It seemed so real!" He quietly explained to her. He didn't want others to overhear him. "I felt as though I was there, like last summer..." Harry trailed off as he realised he hadn't contacted Hermione about that, only Sirius and Ron. 

Harry was determined to make a go of it, so, he did what he could to prepare himself for the game. That included putting the dream from his mind until it could be more effectively dealt with, later. Telling Hermione about the whole thing had been quite helpfull, though. He told her as much and thanked her for listening. Then he headed down to the locker rooms to prepare for the game.

...`~*~`...

The day was crisp and clear and the majority of the school appeared to be seated in the stands surrounding the Quidditch Pitch.

The players strode to the middle of the field, where the opposing teams respectfully stood, facing each other. The Gryffindor players were dressed in red, the Ravenclaw players, in blue. Madam Hooch, the referee, briefly explained the rules and her expectations for the players' behavior, then she called the captain of each team out and told them to shake hands.

Harry smiled shyly at Cho Chang, the captain and seeker of the Ravenclaw team, as he extended his hand to her. He felt a small tingle race up his spine as they shook hands. The thought that he would like to know Cho better, flitted through Harry's mind as they all mounted their brooms. He sternly told himself to focus on the game, then the whistle blew and he kicked off of the ground and into the air.

Harry immediately flew above the rest of the players, so he could search for the snitch more easily. He noticed Cho, similarly situated, nearby. He knew he would need to keep an eye on Cho, as well as watch for the snitch. Cho had proven to be a talented seeker, in the past.

The quaffle had been picked up by one of Gryffindor's chasers, Sean. As he headed toward Ravenclaw's goal, a bludger struck the end of his broom, sending him spinning like a top. The quaffle was caught by another of Gryffindor's chasers, Mackenzie, who quickly closed on the goal and shot. The Ravenclaw goalkeeper deflected the shot, but, Sean, who had recovered from the bludger hit and was near one side of the goal, deflected the quaffle back through the goal!

Ravenclaw's chasers quickly gained control of the quaffle and streaked toward the other side of the field. Harry saw Ron wind up and blast a bludger right past the nose of the Ravenclaw chaser with the quaffle. She neatly swung upside down and passed the quaffle to her teammate, who was hit in the foot by a bludger, directed his way by Savana, just before he could make his shot.

"Brilliant, you two! Keep it up!" Harry shouted his encouragement toward the beaters. Then he spotted the snitch, hovering down near the ground and underneath the Ravenclaw goalkeeper. Unfortuneately, Cho also saw it and she was closer to the snitch than Harry was at the moment. 

Cho and Harry both dove toward the snitch at full speed. Harry was gaining on her, but, Cho still had a sizable lead on him. Then, Ron hit a bludger which whizzed past Cho's ear and she went into a sharp, spiral dive to avoid being hit by it. She pulled up, just before she hit the ground and then, looked around for the snitch. It had disappeared! The seekers both moved back into a search pattern, high above the pitch.

"Yee Ha!" Ron shouted as he flew past Harry.

"What are you, a cowboy?!" Savana laughed at Ron as she flew by on the other side of Harry. Ron, however, was occupied with another bludger.

The game continued in this fashion for quite awhile. The snitch had reappeared, but, so briefly that no one had a chance to get to it. Then, it reappeared for a third time. It was about one meter above the ground, in about the middle of the pitch.

Harry and Cho both saw the snitch at the same time, they dove after it. Harry had a slight lead and it looked like he would get the snitch, when a large crow flew through the edge of his vision.

Harry was momentarily distracted by the bird and a feeling of deja vu, as thoughts of last night's vision crowded in, but, he still had the snitch in his sights. Then something hit him, hard, in his ribcage and he fell to the ground like a wounded bird. Fortunately for Harry, he would never remember hitting the ground, because by then, he was unconscious.

...`~*~`...

Harry fought his way back to consciousness and found himself lying in a bed, in the hospital wing. 

"Wha' happened?" He muttered as he attempted to sit up. The attempt made his head swim as the rest of his body screamed in pain, protesting any thought of movement, much less the attempt at such. 

Someone, they were just a blur at this point, handed him his glasses, so, he put them on. Madam Pomfrey came into focus. She handed Harry a cup, which contained some sort of potion, and told him to drink all of it.

"It'll help with the pain and make you heal faster, dearie." She explained to him. "It'll also make you feel a bit sleepy, but, you need the rest."

"But, what happened to me?" Harry repeated, more clearly this time. Unfortunately, he was already feeling woozy from the draft Madam Pomfrey had given him.

"You were hit by a bludger and fell from your broom." She explained to him, as though he were a small child. 

He would have bristled with indignance at the comment, but, he was already drifting off to sleep.

...`~*~`...

Harry felt better when he awoke this time, but, he was thirsty and hungry. He called Madam Pomfrey and asked for something to eat and to drink. He was rather surprised when Alex appeared bearing a tray of food and juice.

"Bon appetite, mon prince!" Alex said, as he presented the tray with a flourish and a bow.

Harry thought the accent sounded more Canadian than Parisian, but then, what could one expect from an American? The U.K. was closer to France, so, they spoke Parisian french; the U.S.A. was closer to Quebec, they spoke Canadian french. Actually, Harry had been impressed with the number of languages, that both Alex and Savana, spoke fluently. 

_"What are you thinking?!"_ Harry demanded of himself. _"I must have hit my head, harder than I thought I did."_ Harry mentally shook himself and thanked Alex for the tray.

Orion hopped down onto the bed and scampered up to the edge of the tray on Harry's lap, while Harry surveyed the offerings. Harry noted the chicken & vegetable soup, a pink fruit juice, scones with clotted cream and blackberry jam, and some spiced apples, as well as a package, which was about the size of a dinner plate, and wrapped in plain, brown paper. 

Orion sat politely by one edge of the tray and tipped his head inquiringly, as he stared at Harry with his bright, ruby colored eyes.

"Orion, stop that begging and behave yourself!" Alex admonished the rat just as Harry handed Orion a piece of scone with jam. Orion snatched his goodie and ran to the other end of the bed, where he happily ate his treat. His blue spots glowed brightly.

"If I knew what a rat's grin looked like, I'd bet that Orion is doing that right now!" Alex exclaimed, as he watched his pet. Then he shook his head in exasperation.

"Why do the spots on Orion's back glow like that, sometimes?" Harry asked as he wiggled a piece of apple seductively in front of Orion's nose.

"As nearly as I can figure, they glow when he's happy." Alex drawled, then laughed as Orion succumbed to the temptation, which Harry had offered. The rat approached Harry stealthily, snatched the offering from his fingers, and ran back to his previous spot. Once Orion was there, he made short work of the treat. Then Orion washed his face, yawned, and padded over to Alex.

"That's it, you greedy, little, fellow! All you ever do, lately, is eat and sleep." Alex gently chided Orion, as he gently placed the rat back into his pocket.

"Maybe Orion's been taking a few lessons from Scabbers in his free time." Harry said with a smile. Then, he realised that Alex didn't know much, if anything, about Scabbers, so, he told Alex the entire story. 

Once he had finished his tale, he turned his attention to the package on the tray. "What is it?" Harry asked Alex, as he inspected the package with curiosity.

"Why don't you open it and find out?" Alex said in response to the question. "It's actually from Savana, as well as from me." He added.

Harry paused and gave Alex a puzzled look. "Why is Savana sending me presents, or you, for that matter?"

"Savana sent it as an apology...for hitting you with the bludger..."Alex explained, but, Harry still looked puzzled and Alex decided he needed to go into more detail. "Savana was trying to hit Cho with the bludger, she missed and got you instead. We expected you to dodge it, but, you seemed distracted for a moment, and it hit you." Alex shrugged. 

"Savana is very sorry, but, I did remind her that it's part of the game. She's also upset with herself since that move allowed Cho to capture the snitch, so, Ravenclaw won the game. C'est le guerre!"

"Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let any of the students come up to visit you yet, so, I volunteered to play delivery boy." 

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Please, tell Savana, it wasn't entirely her fault." He told Alex about the dream and how the crow had distracted him.

"That wasn't a crow, Harry. It was a Raven." Alex explained.

Harry didn't see what difference that would make, and said as much. So, Alex explained that some of the Alaskan Native Americans believed that the raven was a powerful spirit who was known as a trickster. Alex also suspected that Harry's dream was trying to warn him of something. Unfortunately, he didn't know much about dream interpretation, so, he suggested that Harry talk it over with Professor Dumbledore.

Harry assured Alex that he intended to do just that when he had the chance. "Now, would you please, explain what this is to me?" Harry asked as he held up the contents of the package and examined it.

The curious looking object consisted of a hoop, made of a flexible tree branch. The inside was covered with what appeared to be a circular spider web, made of a fine rawhide. There was a small hole in the center, and a feather hung from the frame. Harry suspected the feather was from a thunder bird, because it still had a faint blue glow.

"It's a dream catcher." Alex explained, while reverently taking it into his own hands.

"Something tells me this is related to my dream, and to Native Americans." Harry said with a touch of suspicion. 

"Right on both counts! But, we're not trying to make fun of you, Harry, it's only meant to help you." Alex explained. "The dream catcher was created by the Ojibwe, a people who are native to northern and central Minnesota. Aurora Borealis is located in the far north-eastern portion of Minnesota. The dream catcher is hung above the head of your bed. The Ojibwe believe that good dreams find their way through this hole in the center, to be recieved by the dreamer. But, bad dreams get caught in the webbing and melt away when the morning sunlight hits them."

"Hermione told us about your dream. She thought it may still have been affecting you during the game. Savana and I were hoping you would appreciate the gesture, if nothing else." Alex said as he hung the dream catcher above Harry's bed. "Oh, I nearly forgot...Chia donated the feather to you. She seems to have developed a liking for you and Savana is green with envy of you because of that. Savana's known Chia almost as long as I have, but, they've never, really been comfortable with each other."

Madam Pomfrey came in with another cup of the potion that she had administered to Harry earlier. She politely told Alex that it was time for him to leave, and for Harry to get some rest. She handed the cup to Harry, who drank it and waved to Alex.

"Thankyou for the dream catcher, and thank Savana for me, too." Harry said as he sank back down into the pillows.

His eyelids were getting heavy, and he soon gave into his body's urge for sleep.

...`~*~`...

Harry awoke to another bright, sunny day, when he opened his eyes the next morning. He moved various parts of his body, testing them, to see if anything still hurt from his accident yesterday. His testing only resulted in mild twinges, so, Harry expected Madam Pomfrey to release him after breakfast. He was anxious to speak to Professor Dumbledore, as soon as it was possible. Harry was pleasently suprised when Professor Dumbledore came to him instead, while he was finishing his breakfast.

"Well, Harry, you certainly appear to be in a much healthier state than you were in yesterday, when we brought you in here." Professor Dumbledore smiled and nodded approvingly. "It's too bad Draco Malfoy was not able to recover as quickley as you appear to have done."

"Whatever happened with that whole incident?" Harry asked. He had been amazed at the lack of reprecussions with the whole thunder bird incident. Malfoy had reappeared in class, etc., a few days later, still looking a little scorched around the edges, but, nothing further was said, or done.

"I discussed the entire incident with Draco Malfoy. Let us just say, that we came to an agreement about the situation, and that it has been put to rest." Professor Dumbledore explained as he examined the dream catcher hanging above Harry's bed. "This is quite interesting. What is it?"

Harry would have liked to hear more about the entire Malfoy-thunder bird situation, but, he knew better than to pursue the issue with Professor Dumbledore. He had just indicated that the matter was closed, in his own unique way. So, Harry told Professor Dumbledore about the dream catcher, as well as, why Alex and Savana had made it, and given it to him.

Professor Dumbledore listened attentively while Harry told his story. When he had finished his narrrative, Professor Dumbledore told Harry that the vision was related to the reason he had come to see Harry.

"Alex came to see me last night." Professor Dumbledore explained. Harry looked at Professor Dumbledore with a puzzled expression on his face, and admitted he had intended to see Professor Dumbledore yesterday. "He was concerned about your vision and its meaning. I agreed with him, for several reasons...The Americans have a unique perspective on visions and seers. It is, no doubt, due to the Native American influence on their culture. Alex and I, believe you are a seer, Harry, and that your vision was a warning. That is why you were left with such a troubled feeling after the experience. 

Visions do not tend to present themselves in a clear and easily understood fashion. Neither Alex, nor I, know how to interpret them, that is an art which takes many years of study to master. Alex's previous Head Master, however, is a master of the art. I have contacted him about your vision, and I will notify you when I recieve his response."

Harry nodded. He felt a bit frusterated with the whole situation. Then, another topic, which he found confusing, occured to him. 

"Do you know why I'm able to communicate telepathically now? I was never able to do it before this year."

"Not all telepaths manifest their talent at birth, or in childhood, many do not discover they have the gift until they reach puberty, when it suddenly_ 'switches'_ on. That is what happened to me, and, I suspect, to you. We will need to teach you how to use, and control, both of these gifts." Professor Dumbledore explained. 

Harry wasn't sure just how he felt about these _'gifts'_. He found some aspects of them to be rather daunting, and others, to be downright scarey. He thanked Professor Dumbledore for his council, though, and bade him fare well. 

Madam Pomfrey had come bustling in and told Harry he could go back to Gryffindor. As long as he was careful and got plenty of rest. 

Harry got up with a grin, dressed, collected his belongings, and dashed out of the door as quickly as he could. He didn't want to give Madam Pomfrey a chance to change her mind.

A/N Hi I'm back. ^^ And I'm updating this story, and I'll admit that I was holding out. I had these done months ago. Ok thank you to all who reviewed. And for those of you who just poped in and read my story.....thank you, but next time leave a review, I want to know how I'm doing. OK done now. And don't forget..............REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!! 


	11. Halloween Disaters

A/N Harry Potter and other characters do not belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm not making any money from this story. (Although I should be with all the nagging I get.) The only things I own are the plot and characters not seen in Rowlings stories. Allright another chapter done, no more pestering for me! ^-^ *does a little dance* 

**Harry Potter and the Staff of Time**

__

Chapter 11

Halloween Disasters

A few weeks later, Harry and his friends were eating breakfast and still trying to understand the meaning of Harry's vision. 

Chief Minnehaha had recently sent a note that the vision was a warning, but he didn't know enough yet, to say anything more. He needed to give the vision more thought and study.

"Cheer up, Harry. Chief Minnehaha always comes through. I'm sure he will this time too." Savana said and took a sip of her coffee.

Savana and Alex had spent a few days teaching Dobby how to make a proper cup of coffee. The result was more paletable than what they had been drinking, but it still had a way to go before anyone would consider it good. Alex had jokingly told Savana to _"consider the source." _Neither one of them were able to make a good cup of coffee either.

"Savana, when Alex visited me in the hospital wing he told me a little about the Raven in Native American legends. Could you tell me more about it?" Harry asked as he played with his french toast.

"There are a few legends about Raven. I think Alex was probably talking about the Clinquoet one, Raven the Trickster. It's his favorite." Savana smiled while she searched her memory for the story. "In a nutshell; Raven stole the sun from the sky people and gave it to the people of Earth, so they would have light."

"Alex gave me the impression that Raven was evil. That doesn't sound very wicked." Hermione said.

"It would be if you're one of the sky people. What does 'in a nutshell' mean?" Ron said as he examined the kipper on his fork, then popped it into his mouth. "Mmm..." He grinned at Savana as he ate it. He knew how disgusting she thought they were.

Savana wrinkled her nose in disgust and finished her coffee before attempting to explain the phrase.

"In a nutshell' means the basic facts...no elaborations." Savana spread some jam on a piece of toast and nodded a greeting to Ginny, who had just joined them.

"What do you guys do for Halloween here?"

"We normally have a feast, but I heard that this year there will also be a dance for the fifth year students and up." Ginny told them with excitment. "Professor Dumbledore will probably announce it sometime today."

"That sounds like more fun than what we've always done." Savana said while finishing her meal. "We've always had a big costume party. It gets a little old after the first couple of years."

"We'd better get going or we'll be late for potions class." Hermione urged them as she gathered her things.

The group got up and made their way toward class. Their thoughts, however, were focused on whom they might be accompanying to the dance, not potions.

...`~*~`...

Professor Dumbledore announced the dance at dinner that night.

Harry decided to ask Cho to go with him, as soon as dinner ended. He didn't want to risk having someone else ask her first. He spent most of the meal mentally rehersing how he would ask her.

"...what is he staring at?!" Ron muttered to Hermione. She glanced toward the Slytherin table.

"I don't think Malfoy's actually staring at us. He actually seems to be gazing over Savana's head. He's not focused on much of anything." Ginny said.

Savana started when she heard her name. "Huh!...Wha..?" She uttered. Savana had been completely absorbed in the book she was reading.

"Malfoy's staring at you. He's probably hatching some type of evil plot." Ron hissed.

"He's staring over her head." Ginny corrected him. "And now, he's noticed us and he's stopped."

Ron glanced in Malfoy's direction. He was leaving the table and walking toward the exit.

"Whatever punches his ticket." Savana shrugged and returned her attention to the book she was reading.

"What is so fascinating about that book?" Ron asked Savana. He reached over and picked it up so he could read the title. _"Merlin the Magnificent."_ Ron quipped as he read the title and sniggered.

"It's _"The Magic of Merlin"_ and you need a reading tutor!" Savana said hotly.

Ron was enjoying Savana's reaction and wanted to continue needling her, but Harry tried to stop him. Harry could see that Savana's temper was rapidly rising and he wanted to catch Cho before she disappeared for the evening. He didn't want to waste time playing peace negotiator between these two. Ron, however, chose that moment for one final push.

"Would you care for some blood pudding, Savana? It's particularly tastey today!" He waved his fork, which contained a piece of the dark, spongy, stuff, under her nose.

"Yeech!" Savana exclaimed. She knocked Ron's hand, and the offending forkfull of pudding, out of her way. Then she grabbed her book and stood up. "You've taken the art of being obnoxious to a new low!" She hissed at Ron. Then she stalked away.

"Why did you do that, Ron? She wasn't doing anything to you. Now she's angry and you know what happens when she's like that!" Ginny sternly admonished her brother.

"Oops!" Ron muttered. He looked sheepish. "I guess I'd better apologise."

"I'll say you should." Ginny faced her brother with a hard gaze. "I'm going after Savana to see if I can calm her down." Then Ginny also left.

Harry saw Cho leaving the Great Hall, so he excused himself and hurried after her. He caught up to her in the entrance way and was relieved to see there was no one else around.

"Cho, may I talk to you for a moment?" Harry called as he approached her. 

His stomach felt tight with apprehension. He was terrified that Cho might say 'no', or laugh at him for thinking she'd accompany him...He calmed his fears before his courage could fail him.

"I was hopeing...um...would you go to the dance with me?" Harry unconsciously held his breath as he waited for Cho's response.

"I'd enjoy that, Harry." Cho answered with a smile.

_"Smashing!"_ Harry thought. He grinned at Cho and said, "I've got to go and finnish some work. I'll see you later about any details." He had to stop himself from skipping down the hall on his way to the Gryffindor common room.

...`~*~`...

Ginny caught up to Savana by the protrait which guarded the Gryffindor House entrance. 

"Savana, wait a moment!" Ginny puffed. She had run the entire way there and was a little winded. "I just wanted to make sure you're all right."

Savana shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "I just wish Ron would get off of my back. He's been teasing me for weeks."

"If it's any help, he knows he went too far this time. And, he only treats people he likes that way. We've all been putting up with it for years." Ginny searched Savana's face for clues of forgiveness.

"I guess, I've been a little prickly lately." Savana admitted. 

"Snape's got smelly socks." She said to the portrait, which popped open at once. "Who thinks up these ridiculous passwords?!" She added.

Ginny shrugged, then greeted Neville, who had just appeared in the hallway.

"Hello Ginny and Savana." Neville greeted them. "Savana, may I talk to you, alone?"

"I was just going to feed Stellaluna." Ginny smiled knowingly and disappeared through the opening.

Neville was blushing furiously. "I just wanted to ask you if you would consider going to the Halloween dance with me? I'll understand if you don't..."

"I'd be happy to go with you, Neville." Savana interrupted him.

"You would? Really?!" He asked in disbelief and smiled shyly.

"Yes, really." Savana laughed.

"Oh...wow...thank you!" Neville bounded through the portal, across the common room and disappeared up the stairs.

Savana heard a happy 'whoop' echo down the stairs as she entered the common room.

"Did he ask you to the dance?" Ginny asked in a conspirital tone.

"Did who ask you to the dance?" Asked Hermione as she entered the room.

"Neville just asked me to the Halloween dance, and I told him I'd be happy to go with him." Savana told them as she flopped into a chair.

Hermione's jaw dropped and her eyes widened in suprise. "You...and Neville...?!"

"What's the problem? He's a little shy, but he seems like a nice enough guy. I think he's kind of cute, in a teddy bear sort of way." Savana laughed at them.

"It's just that I've always thought of Neville as such a clutz." Hermione looked a little uncomfortable.

"Hermione, he's matured since we've met him. Savana probably sees Neville much differently than we do." Ginny said.

"That's true. You wouldn't have any preconcieved ideas about him, since you've only been here since September." Hermione admitted. "So, Ginny, has anyone asked you to the dance yet?"

"No, but the dance was just announced at dinner. I've got time." Ginny replied aimiably. "How about you?"

Hermione began to blush. "Ron just asked me, and I said 'yes."

"I knew it!" Ginny crowed. "It took him months just to build up the courage to ask you. I overheard him at home. He's been rehersing all summer!"

The three continued teasing each other for awhile longer. Then Harry and Ron came in and the girls decided to engage in other pursuits.

...`~*~`...

The next day, after lunch, Savana was waiting by the side door for the rest of the group to join her. She was shocked when Draco Malfoy walked out the door, alone, and began to make small talk with her.

_"This is really weird!"_ Savana thought. 

_"Come on Draco! Just ask her!"_ Draco thought.

"I wonder if you would do me the honor of accompanying me to the Halloween dance?" Draco requested stiffly.

Savana was temporarily shocked into silence. _"He's SO formal!"_ She thought. "I'm sorry, I can't," she stammered. "I'm going with Neville. He already asked me. But, thank you for thinking of me." She almost felt bad for him.

He excused himself, because the rest of her friends were approaching them, and went back inside of the building.

_"I can't believe she turned down a date with me for that squib, Neville."_ Draco thought darkly as he strutted down the hall.

...`~*~`...

It was the day before Halloween and Harry was sitting alone in the common room, studying. He heard a tapping on the window and when he investigated the noise, he found an owl with a note tied to its leg. He opened the window and let the bird inside. Then he removed the letter from the owl's leg, opened it and read it. The letter read:

_"Meet me in Hogsmead, at the Shrieking Shack, tomorrow_

afternoon at 4:30 P.M. Come alone and don't tell anyone

about the meeting or this note. This meeting is very 

important as I must see you to tell you something."

Harry wasn't able to figure out who had sent the message because the signature was quite smudged. He tried to decipher the signature while he guessed at who might have sent the message. He thought about it for a short time and decided the note must be from Sirius. He shoved the scrape of paper into his pocket and went back to his studies.

...`~*~`...

After his last class on Halloween, Harry laid out his dress robes and checked to make sure everything he needed for the banquet and dance was ready for him when he returned from his meeting with Sirius. Then he dug down to the bottom of his trunk and pulled out his invisibility cloak.

Harry draped it over himself and checked to make sure nothing showed from underneath it. Then he quietly went down the stairs, out of Gryffindor House and outside of the building to the whomping willow.

No one else was outside, so he quickly slithered along the ground, throught the branches, reached in, and hit the switch that prevented the willow from beating him to a pulp. Then Harry crept down into the tunnel under the willow, which led to the Shrieking Shack.

Harry took the cloak off and hesitated for a moment while he tried to decide whether to leave the cloak there, or take it with him. He decided to leave it there and pick it up on his way back to the feast and dance.

He pulled out his wand and held it out in front of him like a torch. "Lumos," he commanded. Harry then used it for light as he made his way along the tunnel. He moved along the tunnel in a semi-crouched position for what seemed like miles. Finally, he felt the floor of the tunnel begin to ascend and he followed it around a final twist. He looked through a hole into a dilapidated, abandoned, ruin of a room.

"Snuffles...?" Harry called softly, as he stuck his wand, and head, up through the hole.

There was no response to his call and he saw no one, so he climbed the rest of the way through the hole and looked more carefully around the room. He heard a muffled footfall in the hallway and moved toward it.

"Snuffles, why did you...," was all Harry managed to say before he was roughly grabbed from behind. Something soft was pressed over his mouth and nose. It was saturated with a substance which smelled cloyingly sweet and familiar...a sleeping potion...Harry realised as everything around him faded into the oblivion of unconsciousness.

...`~*~`...

The Great Hall had been transformed for the evening's festivities. Savana gapped in awe as she stood in the entryway with Neville, Hermione and Ron.

"Wow! This makes Aurora Borealis look like a kiddie party in comparison!" She told her companions.

Glowing Jack 'O Lanterns lined the walls and tables, while bioluminescent bats soared through the sky. (Which was actually the enchanted ceiling.) A large, orange, harvest moon bathed everything in a soft glow and a ghostly orchestra provided various types of music.

The hall was crowded with students, staff, and faculty; dressed in their finest robes; laughing, talking, and dancing.

Neville and Savana moved toward the dance floor while Hermione and Ron mingled with the crowd. They eventually ended up by the refreshment table, where Alex stood with his date, Fleur Delacour-Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and a group of star struck girls. A group of boys, presumably the erstwhile 'dates' of Alex's fan club, grumbled nearby.

Ginny and her date, Parker, joined Hermione and Ron there, but Ron and Parker soon tired of listening to the girls' fawning questions about Alex's life in the States. They drifted over to the rest of the boys and joined in with their discussion about quidditch.

Savana and Neville moved around the dance floor greeting people they knew as they danced past. 

Savana was pleasantly suprised at Neville's dancing skill and grace. He was also proving to be both a good conversationalist and quite humorous, once he felt comfortable with her.

Savana nodded a greeting to Malfoy as he danced by with Pansy Parkinson. She appeared to be talking his ear off while he stared over her head. Malfoy's eyes were glazed and he looked like he was a million miles away.

Pansy began to notice her date's inattentiveness after a little while. She got his attention and asked him what the problem was, though she already knew the answer.

Pansy had seen Draco mooning over Savana and suspected that Draco might have asked Savana to the dance, before asking her. 

Draco made some excuse about his listening to the music, but Pansy wasn't buying it. So, when Draco and she happened to move next to Neville and Savana, Pansy artfully stuck-out her foot and tripped Savana. That caused Savana to fall against Neville, who gallently caught her.

"That little tramp!" Savana hissed.

"Clumsey Yank!" Pansy said loudly enough for Savana to hear, as she left the dance floor draped over Malfoy's arm.

"What was that all about?" Neville asked Savana as he led her to a chair.

Savana gratefully sat down and began to massage her sore ankle. "Who knows what was going through that gnat sized brain of hers?!"

"I'll go and get something cool for us to drink." Neville volunteered and disappeared into the crowd.

When he returned, he brought Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Parker and Cho with him. They all greeted each other.

"Cho, where is Harry?" Hermione asked. She looked around the hall, searching for Harry.

"I don't know." Cho responded, sounding a bit hurt and confused. "I waited for a half an hour after Harry said he'd pick me up, then I came down by myself. I thought, maybe, he'd turn up here, or that one of you might know where he'd be."

They all felt badly for Cho, but their over-riding concern was for Harry. Where could he be?

Ron felt especially alarmed. He knew how much Harry had been looking forward to going to this dance with Cho. It was unlikely Harry would have voluntarily been late for, or missed, this. 

Ron leaned over and whispered something to Neville. Then they excused themselves and left the hall.

"What are they up to?" Ginny asked.

"We'll probably find out soon." Savana responded.

...`~*~`...

Neville and Ron raced up to Gryffindor House, through the common room and up to their room. They found Harry's dress robes laid out on his bed, ready for Harry to don for the dance. There was a clear box, which contained a lovely corsage made of gardinas and carnations, on Harry's pillow. A pantleg poked out from under the lid of Harry's trunk, otherwise nothing appeared to be amiss.

Ron began moving things and looking under them for any possible clue while Neville opened drawers, etc. and searched them. Then Ron thought of Harry's invisibility cloak, so he opened the trunk and dug through it. The cloak wasn't there and he knew that was where Harry kept it.

Ron went through the trunk a second time, just to be sure he hadn't missed anything. NO CLOAK! 

Ron's stomach twisted into a knot of anxiety as he closed the trunk. Then he noticed a pair of pants had fallen onto the floor during his rummaging. Ron sighed in frusteration, snatched the offending garment from the floor and threw it back into the trunk.

Neville saw a scrap of paper flutter from the pants to the floor while Ron was tidying up his mess. He picked it up and read it.

"Umm...Ron..." He studdered as Ron continued to mutter to himself. "Ron!"

Ron turned to Neville. "What! Harry's invisibility cloak is missing! I've got to figure out where he went in it!" 

"Read this, it fell out of Harry's pants..." Neville attempted to explain, but Ron had snatched the note and read it.

"Neville, I think Harry's in trouble. He went into Hogsmead to meet someone, I can't tell who...he should be back by now. We'd better get some help."

Ron and Neville ran back down to the rest of the group as fast as their legs could carry them.

__


	12. Raven the Trickster

A/N Harry Potter and other established characters do not belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling. The only things that do belong to me are the plot and charters not seen in Rowlings books. (I'm a genius, I know! ^-^) Ok enough, here is the next chapter. Now go climb a tree, and stay there until my next chapter is finished!)

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

_chapter 12_

Raven the Trickster

Ron and Neville slid to a halt outside the entryway to the Great Hall. They approached the table, where the rest of the group waited, at a more sedate pace. 

"So, where is he?!" Savana gave voice to the question on everyone's mind.

"Har...ry's..._puff_...he's..._puff_...read..." Ron wheezed. He threw the note onto the table. Neville dropped into an open seat, still panting.

The rest of the group made varying comments of dismay as they finished reading the note.

"Well, at least he didn't ditch me." Cho attempted to lighten the mood.

"We've got to get some help." Hermione said. "Don't look at me like that, Savana! Do you have a better idea?" Hermione challenged her. "Do any of you...?"

The others shrugged their shoulders, or shook their heads.

"Let's go and ask Alex what to do." Hermione concluded.

Ron muttered something about, "...Oh, yes...let's go and ask the great and powerful Alex...he'll know exactly what to do...!" As he trailed along behind the rest of the group.

They made their way across the hall until they finally reached Alex and Fleur. Hermione quickly explained what was happening and handed the scrap of paper to them to read.

Alex grabbed Fleur's hand and began to lead her, as well as the others, toward the entrance.

"Find Hagrid and tell him to meet us in the entryway to the Great Hall. Then, go release Chia and tell her to meet me at the Shrieking Shack." Alex quietly commanded Savana.

They all waited by the entryway until Hagrid had joined them there, a few minutes later. Savana had already gone to release Chia.

They decided that they would all go as far as the tunnel under the Whomping Willow, since none of the adults were familiar with either the switch, or the tunnel. Once they reached that point, however, only the adults would continue on to the Shrieking Shack.

Alex told the students to inform Professor Dumbledore about the situation and what they were doing to take care of it. Then they all made their way to the Whomping Willow. 

Once they had reached it, Ron told the others to wait while he crawled through the branches to reach the deactivation switch.

Ron still owned the detested, old fashioned, maroon, dress robe. His mother had altered it twice, in order to make it fit Ron. He hoped it would be irreparabley ruined once he had preformed this small chore. Then he would be able to get a more up-to-date dress robe to replace this one, and he would avoid his mother's wrath at the destruction of his present robe. Ron was certain his mother would forgive him, since his robe was ruined while rescuing Harry. He grinned as he deliberately caught his sleeve, then his back, on the tips of the willow's wildly flailing branches. The branches obligingly tore wide ragged holes in the ancient fabric, but left Ron undamaged.

Ron punched the knot on the tree's trunk, which immobilized its branches, and called the others in to the tunnel's entrance. Then, he cast a spell with his wand for light and entered the tunnel. Ron looked around while he waited for the adults to join him. His gaze fell onto a folded garment, made of a dark, filmey material. 

"Oh, no..." Ron sighed, as he picked up Harry's invisibility cloak. Until now Ron had held onto a slim hope that Harry hadn't responded to the note.

"Ques'ce que c'est le problem, Ron?" Fleur asked in alarm.

"Yes, what's the problem, pardner?" Alex echoed.

"I just found Harry's cloak of invisibility." Ron croaked. He had a sinking feeling in his gut.

"Well, at least it tells us that Harry's been here and we're on the right track." Alex suggested. "Let's take this with us, it could prove useful." He added after examining the cloak.

Hagrid stuck his head in just then and said, "Don' think theh likes 'o me'll fit in thereh. Meet yeh in town."

"Oui." Fleur responded quickly.

Alex, however, looked uncomfortable. "Fleur, without Hagrid, we won't know where we're going. You're almost as new here as I am."

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to go with you." Ron stuttered. "I've been through this tunnel before..." Actually, the only time Ron had been through the tunnel, or to the Shrieking Shack, he'd been in so much pain that what memories he had of the entire experience were fragmented and foggy. However, Ron was desperate to find Harry.

"D'accord...O.K..., Ron." Fleur said, to Ron's relief. "Let us go, then."

"Lead on, McDuff." Alex said, securing the cloak in his belt and waving Ron forward. 

Ron shook his head and began to scuttle along the tunnel. _"Americans certainly spoke strangely." _He thought. There were many times he had no idea what either Alex or Savana were talking about. They seemed to be communicating in a foriegn language much of the time.

The three reached the end of the tunnel. Alex pushed ahead of Ron and looked around the dilapidated room. He was expecting trouble and didn't want any of them to step out into the middle of something. The room was empty.

"O.K., you two, let's go in and do a CAREFUL search." He instructed Ron and Fleur.

They quickly searched the entire shack. They found several footprints in the dust, as well as Harry's wand in a corner, but nothing else. Alex put Harry's wand in a pocket, then they followed the footprints out into the yard, where the tracks disappeared.

"Nuts!" Alex muttered. "It would have been much easier to just track these guys. Chia, you're up. We're going to need your help."

The magnificent bird sailed the short distance to Alex's shoulder from the tree where she'd been waiting.

"Chia, please fly over the surrounding area and see if you can spot Harry." Alex requested.

Chia rose majestically into the sky and soared over the surrounding meadows and forests. She gave off gentle pulses of multi-colored light as she flew.

...`~*~`...

Harry became aware of voices, one of them sounded familiar, but his brain was too foggy for him to place the voice with a person.

"...and he should be here by now! This place gives me the creeps!"

"Lord Voldemort told me to keep you here until he arrives." Said the whiney, familiar voice.

Harry shivered. The ground upon which he lay was wet and cold. He forced an eye open and saw three robed and hooded figures through the swirling ground fog. _"Death Eaters!"_ He thought.

Harry looked around and saw that he was in the swampy clearing of a forest. It looked absolutely primeval! The air was heavy with the stench of wet, rotting vegetation.

_"My vision! I saw them and this place in my vision!" _Harry thought in amazement.

Harry shook involuntarily when he heard a loud noise, a combination of a shriek and a roar, echo through the soggy air.

"What is that?!" Squawked the familiar voice.

Then Harry realised who the voice belonged to, it was Peter Pettigrew! (Also known as Scabbers, the rat, in his animagus form.)

Peter Pettigrew had betrayed Harry's family to Lord Voldemort, then framed Sirius Black for their murders.

"It's probably a drake." Answered a deep, harsh voice.

_"DRAKES!"_ Harry thought with alarm. _"Drakes live here?!"_

Harry had learned about drakes last year and they had sounded like nasty creatures. Drakes had features similar to dragons: their reptilian heads contained rows of sharp teeth; their bodies were long and scaley, with heavy tails and large wings. Drakes, however, did not breath fire and had only two claws, which were formidible, and preferred to live in swampy places.

"Raven, you never told us there were drakes in here!" Peter whined.

"What's the problem, Peter? Are you afraid one of them will attack you?" Raven teased. "You don't need to worry, unless you transform into a rat, then you'll make a nice, little hors- d'oeuvre for it!"

"What is to prevent a drake from scooping you up for a snack if you transform, Raven?" The third Death Eater quiered. "You may be known as Raven, the trickster, but you can't outfly a hungry drake!" He laughed unpleasantly.

Harry recognised the voice of the third Death Eater as that of Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's father. He wondered just what they had planned for him. His past experiences with Pettigrew, Malfoy, and Voldemort hadn't exactly been positive.

Harry suspected they had brought him to the Phantom Forest. When it was visible, it was located on the outskirts of Hogsmead. Hagrid had told them that drakes lived there and that it was an unplesant place, filled with dangerous life forms (both plant and animal). 

The Phantom Forest had gotten its name because it tended to appear and disappear, along with everything in it, whether it belonged in the forest or not. 

Harry felt a pressing desire to leave before he disappeared along with the forest. He cautiously searched the sky and hoped he would be able to escape. Then, he saw a multi-colored, pulsing light appear in the star filled sky, far above the edge of the clearing.

_"Please, be Chia."_ Harry breathed hopefully.

The lights vanished and Harry had to swallow his brief surge of hope. It was replaced by fear. The Death Eaters were aware that Harry was awake and they were moving toward him!

...`~*~`...

Chia let off a victorious scream, then swooped down toward Alex and the rest of the group, who stood waiting for her. She landed on Alex's shoulder and gazed intently into his eyes.

"Alors, what iz that in 'er beak?" Fleur had a look of disgust on her face as she studied the slimey, green-brown, bit of vegetation that Chia held in her beak. "'as she found 'arry?" She continued, voicing the question on all of their minds.

"ARRGH! It smells like a stink bug!" Alex squawked, holding his nose. "Chia, I know you brought this back with you to let us know where Harry is, but couldn't you have chosen something that smelled better?!"

Chia made a small chirping sound in her throat, which Alex suspected was the thunder bird equivelant of laughter, and dropped the disgusting plant at his feet.

"Yeh know, birds don't have a good sense 'a smell, Alex. She's haven' a bit 'o fun with yeh." Hagrid chuckled. "Chia brought yeh a piece 'o meekowort...only grows in theh Phantom Forest and it makes a good soup."

"You EAT that thing?!" Alex shouted in disbelief.

"The important thing is that Chia has found Harry and is trying to tell us where he is." Ron interrupted the discourse. He told the others what he knew about the Phantom Forest while Hagrid filled in the gaps.

Alex instructed Ron to don the invisibility cloak and Chia to fly ahead to show them where Harry was located. Then, with a collective gulp, the group made their way into the Phantom Forest.

...`~*~`... 

Harry gulped and tried to scrabble away from his captors. "Who are you and why am I here?" He demanded, trying to sound confident, but his voice cracked and the question was completed in a most undignified squeek.

Harry knew why he was here and who his captors were, however, he had no intention of letting the Death Eaters know that. He was curious as to the true idenity of Raven, though he suspected no further information would be offered.

"We just thought you'd appreciate a nice, little Halloween picnic." Raven said sarcastically. "But, my associates appear to have forgotten the treats, so we'll have to settle for tricks."

Lucius felt something wet mouthing his heel, then sharp teeth began to clamp down tenatively on the same area. He yanked his foot away and lept forward in one violent motion.

"Ouch! Something just bit me!" Lucius yelped.

Lucius looked around to assure himself that nothing else dangerous lurked nearby. Once he was assured of his relative safety, he inspected his heel. A row of punctures circled the heel of his shoe, which was covered with grey-green slime. He removed the damaged shoe and held it at arm's length between his thumb and forefinger.

"Geez! The bloody thing stinks like a rotting carcus! It's ruined! These shoes cost me 5 galleons, and now some bloody beast ruined them!" Lucius ranted while Raven began to laugh heartily. (Lucius didn't know that Hagrid, Fleur, Alex and Ron crouched nearby, doing their best not to laugh outloud. They had approached the clearing just in time to see the entire scene.)

"It wasn't an animal that bit you. It was a rustiflora flower." Raven smirked at Lucius with a superior attitude.

"Lucius the mighty...brought down by a...flower!" Peter began to laugh so hard that tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Shut up you git!" Lucius glared at Peter, then he turned and glared at the offending flower.

The rust colored flowerhead was about the size of a softball, surrounded by large, ruffled petals which were a darker shade of rust. It's mouth had an underbite and the cheeky thing was actually smiling at him! 

"You're lucky that's a young one, it can only bite a chunk out of you. An adult rustiflora could swallow you whole! Oops, bye bye world!" Raven said gleefully. "Now, bring that kid over here. I hear something in the brush and I think it's Lord Voldemort."

Ron looked up in horror when Raven said that. Had the Death Eaters heard him? He was still covered by the invisibility cloak, except his feet and lower legs. They had become exposed while Ron had been trying to kick away a vine which kept winding around his ankles and purring.

_"Stupid tabby creeper!"_ Ron thought as he kicked at the annoying, carnivorious plant again before it could tighten around him like a boa constrictor. 

The creeper purred again as Ron finally managed to extricate himself from its coils. He gave the creeper one final kick for good measure. It hissed at him and slithered away.

"If that's Lord Voldemort, why is he hiding in the bushes?! I think it's a drake, or another one of those obnoxious plants!" Whined Peter. 

Alex motioned the others over to him. "The jig is up!" He whispered to them. "Ron, readjust your cloak, your feet are showing...Hagrid!...Hagrid?!..." But, Hagrid wasn't there!

Hagrid had ambled casually to the clearing's edge, where he pretended to be searching for meekowort. He was already holding a handfull of the noxious stuff and he had bent over to pluck somemore when he pretended to notice Harry and the Death Eaters.

"Evenin' to yeh." Hagrid greeted the group. "Jus' gatherin' some soup stock...Harry, what 'er yeh doin' here? Thought yeh were at theh dance. Are yeh lost?" Hagrid said naively.

"What are you doing out here?" Lucius demanded. "This isn't the time or place to be taking your daily constitutional. And, don't tell me that soup story," he continued when Hagrid opened his mouth to speak. "I know you're out here looking for him!" He indicated Harry.

"Well, now you can wait with him for Lord Voldemort. We'll let him decide what to do with you. Don't try any stupid stunts either!" Peter tried to sound tough, but his voice was tremulous.

Hagrid edged over toward Harry, but searched the edge of the forest as he did so. He was smiling when he sat down next to Harry and began to softly whistle an eerie, melancholy tune.

"Hagrid, what do you think you're do...?" Harry began to say. But, Hagrid stopped him with a look which left no question in Harry's mind that Hagrid wanted him to be quiet.

"Now what should we do?" Alex muttered in desperation. 

Hagrid's impulsive actions had left Alex's fledgling plan in tatters. Then, as he watched the activity in the clearing, Alex realised Hagrid was executing a plan of his own. A variety of carnivorous plants, including rustiflora and tabby creepers, were stealthily creeping up behind the Death Eaters. Alex gasped as he realised that Hagrid's whistled tune was drawing the creepy crawlers toward the Death Eaters.

"Stop that infernal whistling before I hit you with a spell that will fuse your mouth closed!" Raven demanded irritably.

Fleur poked Alex. "You could 'ave Chia geeve 'eem a leetle 'elp." She whispered.

"You've got it!" Alex replyed. He smiled for the first time since they had begun this misadventure. "Chia, go and _'encourage'_ those guys in the robes to back up into the plants."

Chia flew high up above the trees and let out an angry cry as she dropped toward the Death Eaters with her talons outstretched. The glowing colors around her began to pulse and became more vibrant as the bird focused on her attack.

"What is that?!" Whined Peter as he backed away from Chia.

"Another nefarious inhabitant of this miserable excuse for a forest, no doubt!" Lucius said as he also backpedaled away from the firey creature.

Chia sent a blast of energy toward their feet. It resulted in a burned patch of earth, about 1 meter in diameter, which emitted streamers of smoke. The blast also caused the Death Eaters to back up until they tripped and fell over some tabby creepers. The creepers quickly wrapped themselves around the Death Eaters and began to squeeze the life out of them, purring the entire time.

Alex, Fleur and Ron ran out into the clearing to join Hagrid and Harry.

"Let's get out of here!" Harry shouted.

They all began to back out the way they had come from. 

"Oh, no! Peter's transforming into a rat! He's going to get away again!" Ron exclaimed.

Peter's size had changed so rapidly that the tabby creeper could not keep a grip on him. Scabbers scampered rapidly toward the forest, while dodging some hungry rustiflora which snapped at him. They watched helplessly as he disappeared, unmolested, into the underbrush.

"We've still got two...NUTS!" Alex stomped a foot. One of the Death Eaters had turned into a large, black raven and was flying away. "Chia, get him!" Alex ordered.

Chia sent a blast after the fleeing bird, but it missed and hit the tabby creepers which held the third Death Eater. Chia flew off after the raven while the creepers hissed like angry cats and Lucius Malfoy crawled free of them. Lucius ran off in the same direction as Scabbers had gone. Then, just to make things worse, the forest began to fade.

"We've go' ter go, now!" Hagrid shouted and they all began to run as fast as they could until they reached the edge of the rapidly vanishing forest. Once they had reached Hogsmead, they paused to get their breath. Chia joined them there.

"I guess the raven got away, huh Chia?" Alex asked as he scratched her head. Chia made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "Let's get started back to the school. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore is going to have a few things to say, to all of us."

The group began their trek back to Hogwarts as the sun began to peek over the eastern horizon and illuminate the area where the Phantom Forest had been. Now, however, the area was just a typical moor bathed in the light of dawn. 


	13. The Hand of Time

A/N Ok, these long authors notes are getting to be too much so, I'll make this short and sweet. ^-^ I don't own Harry Potter or any characters in Rowlings books. However, I do own this plot and the characters who are not seen in the Rowling's books. There, is that short enough? Now, without further ado, here is the next installment of my story. ("Celine, start typing.") *Cat look's at her annoyed*

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 13

****

The Hand of Time

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Savana, were sitting in the library studying for several upcoming tests. The Christmas Holiday was only two weeks away and the professors in most of their classes were administering tests before the long break.

Ron stretched and decided it was time for a short study break. He had also just remembered a question which he had been meaning to ask Harry for several weeks.

"Harry, why did you go to the Shreiking Shack on Halloween? You didn't know who had sent you the note..." Ron stumbled to a halt as he noticed the sheepish expression on Harry's face.

"I thought the note was from Snuffles1." Harry said softly.

"Who the blazes is Snuffles?!" Savana asked in a normal tone of voice. "Ouch!" She exclaimed as Hermione kicked her sharply in the shin. 

Savana glared at Hermione across the stack of books in front of her. Hermione returned the glare and hissed at Savana, "I think it's time for you and me to take a little break, now!"

Savana sullenly followed Hermione to a nearby girls' lavetory and, once they had determined that it was otherwise deserted, Savana allowed her temper free reign.

"Who do you think you are, the bloody queen of England?!" Savana demanded savagely. "How dare you treat me like some out of control, two year old, spoiled brat! All I did was ask you an innocent question and you acted like I was some ax murderer!" Savana angerly swiped away tears which threatened to overflow.

Hermione began to feel guilty, as well as a little embarressed, for jumping down Savana's throat so quickly. Hermione suspected she wouldn't have been so quick to condem anyone else. She decided to make a real effort to be nicer to Savana, begining right now. So, Hermione told Savana the story of Snuffles and Harry.

"...so, now you understand why we couldn't explain who Snuffles was in a public area like the library." Hermione concluded.

Savana nodded and thanked Hermione. She felt more in control now and a little ashamed of her outburst. She apologised to Hermione and splashed some water on her face.

"Do I look alright, ...no red eyes, or..." Savana noticed that Hermione was looking at her strangely. "What is it?" Savana asked with alarm as she turned to study herself in the mirror.

"Your eyes..." Hermione murmured as she leaned closer to Savana's face to get a better look at her eyes. "...they're two different colors!"

"Oh, my contact..." Savana moaned as she began to turn toward the mirror again. "I've got to find it!" 

"Wait! I see it! It's caught on your lower eyelash." Hermione said. "Your eyes are such a beautiful shade of violet! Why would you want to change their color?"

"Because I can!" Savana said shortly as she prepared to re-insert the contact. Then, remembering her vow to be nicer to Hermione, she added quietly, "And because my other eye is green."

"That's absolutely wicked! May I see your eyes without the contact lenses?" Hermione breathed with excitement.

"Perhaps later, when I take out my contacts for the night." Savana responded as she completed putting the errant contact back where it belonged. She looked back at Hermione, both eyes were now a brilliant shade of aqua-marine.

"Why do I hide them with contacts?" Savana vocalised Hermione's unasked question. Hermione nodded. "Because when I was younger, I got teased about my eyes, alot." Savana's tone was bitter and it was obvious to Hermione that the memories were still quite painful for Savana. "So, when I was old enough to wear contacts, I got them as soon as possible. Now, I just blend in with everyone else."

Hermione made some commiserating comments as they left the lavatory and walked back to the library. Neither of them had noticed Peeves, the resident poltergist, had been evesdropping on them from inside one of the stalls.

Peeves popped back through the wall and into the hallway with a wicked grin upon his his face. _"She has two different colored eyes!" _He thought with glee. _"I could have alot of fun with that!"_

With a nasty chuckle, Peeves flew down toward the dungeons where he intended to have some more fun.

...`~*~`...

Hermione and Savana walked back into the library and sat down at the table which was occupied by the rest of their friends. Neville had joined the group during the girls' absence. Savana smiled at him.

"Hey, Neville, good to see ya!" Savana greeted him as she sat down in the empty chair next to him. 

Neville smiled shyly at Savana, then returned to his studies.

The texts which they were studying at the moment, had been recommended by Professor Binns. He had told the class that the test would focus on Merlin's relics and tailsmans and this text had a detailed section on that topic.

Harry turned a page in the book and stopped as he studied the illustration and the caption of an odd looking mage staff. He recalled Professor Binns discussing that particular staff in class. 

"Look at this, all of you." Harry whispered with excitement as he pointed to the picture.

The illustration depicted a rather plain, gold colored, mage staff with a ruby clock-face affixed to its top. The caption beneath it read: _Merlin's Staff of Time._

"Listen to this!" Hermione said in a quiet voice edged with excitement. She proceeded to read aloud to the rest of the group from the text on the page before her.

_"The preponderence of evidence indicates that the Staff of Time_

did exist but, its existance in the present time is highly doubtful...

Merlin created the staff to control all aspects of time: past, present

and future. It is also believed to be the source of great power and

because of that atribute, Merlin decreed that upon his death the 

staff must be destroyed. He feared that without his protection, the

staff could fall into the hands of a practitioner of the dark arts, such

as Morgana LeFey2, who would use the staff's power to preform acts 

of great evil...

...some continue to believe that Merlin's descendants possess the 

Staff of Time...it is highly unlikely, however, since the staff would have

been used in the centuries since Merlin's death..."

"Could that possibly be true?!" Neville quiered in awe.

"Of course it's true, you git! Otherwise, why would old Binney make us study this stuff?!" Ron responded with exasperation.

"Not the existance of the Staff of Time, or Merlin using it,...the other stuff, about the descendants..." Neville attempted to clairify his thoughts, but was interrupted by Hermione, who had noticed some increased attention from the occupants of nearby tables.

"That's why the book states it as myth, not fact, Neville." Hermione told him haughtily. Then she stood up and stretched. "I think I'm going back to Gryffindor and finish my studying there." Hermione announced.

"We'll see you later." Ron said as he bent back to study the text. "HEY..." He was going to add a colorful epitaph, directed toward Savana who had just kicked him in the shin. He caught onto Savana's silent indication, however, that they were all to follow Hermione's lead.

"I'll be along in a bit," Ron told them. "After I check out a couple of books."

The rest of the group trailed out after Hermione while Ron picked up his books and two of the library texts, including the one with the information on the Staff of Time, to check out. He then followed the rest of the group back to Gryffindor House.

...`~*~`...

Pansy Parkinson was walking alone along the corrider to the entrance of Slytherin House, when something wet, oily, and quite smelly, burst over her head. Pansy was drenched from her head to her knees, with a substance which reeked of rotting fish and felt quite oily. Pieces of the balloon, which had contained the fish oil, lay at her feet. She was assailed by cackling laughter from behind and turned toward it, fury welling up within her.

"PEEVES!! You bloody, little, spectre!" She shouted.

Peeves continued laughing as he bobbed up and down near the ceiling. He was holding another fish oil balloon and he prepared to throw it at Pansy.

"Go ahead and try it, Peeves! I'm going straight to Professor Snape and the Bloody Baron3 and tell them about this little prank of yours..."

"I know something you don't know." Peeves chanted in an irritating sing-song tone.

Pansy stomped her foot in anger, turned and continued marching toward Slytherin House.

"If you promise not to tell anyone about this...er...little incident, I'll tell you my secret." Peeves said nervously as he attempted to block Pansy from moving further on down the corrider.

"Why would I care about your perverted, little, secret?" Pansy demanded as she tryed to duck around the obnoxious poltergeist.

"Because it's about a certain American transfer student who thinks she knows everything." Peeves had returned to his previous sing-song tone, which Pansy found to be irritating, but he had caught her interest, and Peeves knew it.

"Allright, what is it?" Pansy tryed to feign disinterest.

"I want your word first." Peeves sounded more like his usual self.

"O.K., I promise, now spill it! I can't take this smell much longer."

Peeves quickley told Pansy all that he had overheard, while wickedly acting out the entire scene between Hermione and Savana.

Pansy was so delighted with the information that she quickly snuck into Slytherin House and cleaned herself up. She didn't mention Peeve's prank to anyone and enjoyed planning her next strike against Savana. 

Pansy couldn't tolerate Savana! The girl acted as though she knew everything and the way she threw herself at Draco was just plain disgusting! Especially since everyone knew Draco loved Pansy. (At least, those were the facts in Pansyworld.)

Pansy was determined to reveal to Draco, and everyone else who thought Savana was SO special, exactly what Savana really was. Pansy felt that if she were really fortunate, Savana would disappear in the process.

Pansy began to formulate her plan for revenge against Savana. She wanted to be sure each detail was perfect. She never even thought about what Professor Dumbledore had told her after the last time she had picked on Savana.

...`~*~`...

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Savana had re-assembled in the Gryffindor House common room. Fortunately for them, the only other occupants of the room were Ginny and Stellaluna. Everyone else was off studying.

"I would be in the library, but I needed to feed Stellaluna." Ginny told the rest of the group. "I'm going back to the library as soon as she's done eating."

The little flying fox deftly removed the last of the pulpy portion of the fruit she was eating from the rind. Then she gobbled it up. Stellaluna searched the now empty rind with her nose and, finding there was no edible portion of the fruit remaining, looked up at Ginny as if to say, _"So, where is the next course?"_

Ginny laughed softly and scratched Stellaluna's head. "That's all there is until later tonight. If you keep eating as much as you do during warmer weather, when you do more flying, you'll turn into a furry, little, flying football. Now that it's cold out, you don't get as much exercise, so you don't need quite as much food."

Stellaluna cocked her head and eyed Ginny with apparent disgust. 

"Giving me that look won't change anything." Ginny admonished the cheeky bat.

Stellaluna ruffled up her fur, then began to clean herself. When Stellaluna finished, Ginny picked her up then waved to the rest of the group as she went up to put Stellaluna back in her quarters.

"Ron, let me see that book, please." Savana requested.

Ron handed the book to Savana who immediately opened it to the section on the Staff of Time. She scanned the section, then sat back and steepled her fingers as she contemplated what she had just read.

"I wonder if Voldemort wanted my family dead because of something more than their association with the Potters?" Savana said in a thoughtful tone of voice.

"That's all the justification he's needed in the past." Ron said with authority.

"What are you getting at, Savana?" Harry asked. His attention had been focused on his studies, so he had only caught part of the exchange between Savana and Ron.

"I understand what she's thinking." Hermione said with excitement.

"Would you be so kind as to tell us beings of lesser intelligence what you're thinking?!" Ron demanded sarcastically.

"Savana's family are descendants of Merlin. This book says there are people who believe Merlin's descendants possess the Staff of Time." Hermione said patiently, as though she were explaining something to a three year old.

"So..." Ron demanded.

"So, the Staff of Time is a source of great power. What if that is the reason Voldemort attacked my family?" Savana completed the explaination.

"That idea may have some merit." Neville said quietly. "Don't you agree, Harry?...Harry!"

Harry stared straight ahead, his eyes were glazed and he was pale. He appeared to be in a trance.

_Harry saw a man dressed in long, flowing, black robes. His face was white as chalk and he was standing amidst the ruins of an old building. The man held a gold mage staff with a ruby clock face at the top._

Then the vision vanished and Harry found himself back in the Gryffindor House common room, surrounded by his concerned friends.

"Harry, what just happened?" Neville asked with concern in his voice.

"I think I just had another vision." Harry said shakily. "I saw Voldemort and he was holding the Staff of Time."

1. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN: Snuffles is the nickname which Harry 

gave to his Godfather, Sirius Black because his animagus form is that of a large, black dog. Harry continues to use the nickname to protect Sirius' identity.

2. Morgana LeFey: The mythical sorceress of King Arthur's Court. She was also believed to be King Arthur's sister 

and the mother of Modrid, Arthur's son.

3. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE: Peeves, the poltergeist, is afraid of the 

Bloody Baron, who is the Slytherin House spectre. The Bloody Baron is the only being at Hogwart's that Peeves

will obey consistantly.


	14. Home for the Holidays

A/N Ok, here is another of my boring lectures. You know the drill. Harry Potter, and other characters in Rowling's books, do not belong to me and I'm not makeing money off of this. ( I wish I was, though.) Now, with that out of the way, on with the story. Let the genius work! (Ok, where did I put those cheat notes?)

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 14

****

Home for the Holidays

The evening before the Christmas holiday was to begin, Harry and Ron sat in the nearly deserted common room playing a game of wizard's chess. Harry wasn't completely focused on the game because he was thinking about his most recent vision and planning what he would do over the holiday while all of his friends were home visiting their families. Consequently, Ron was giving Harry a sound thrashing.

"Hah! Checkmate!" Ron crowed as his knight picked up Harry's king and threw it on the floor.

Harry sighed, picked up his chesspiece and placed it back on the chessboard. Ron's knight growled at it.

"I should know better than to play wizard's chess with you." Harry said and he rescued his king from two of Ron's pawns, who were threatening it. He placed the piece in its storage case, where it breathed a sigh of relief.

"You usually do a better job of it, than you have today. Is something on your mind?" Ron asked as he collected his pieces and put them away. 

Harry shrugged and sat back in his chair. "Nothing I haven't already told you about."

"I'd better get upstairs and pack, then. Otherwise I'll forget something and my mum'll be upset with me the entire time I'm home." Ron said.

"She's going to be ready to shoot you anyway, once she sees what you've done to your dress robes!" Savana said with a laugh as she recalled Ron's torn, tattered and soiled dress robes.

"No, she won't, " Ron responded with confidence. "All I need to do is tell her the story of the whomping willow attacking me while I was risking my life trying to rescue Harry from the clutches of the evil you-know-who..."

"Oh, get over yourself!" Savana snorted.

She couldn't help but to laugh at him. Ron was accompanying his monologue with a comic pantomime of his brave battle with the whomping willow.

"...despite grievous, personal injuries, the forces of truth and light prevailed..." Ron continued his oratory as he strode dramatically toward the entrance of the boy's dormitory.

Someone threw a pillow at Ron, but missed him. The pillow slid down the wall onto the floor while Ron laughed and ran up the stairs, disappearing from their view.

"What are you doing for the holiday, Savana? I would imagine the States are too far away for you to go home." Harry surmised.

"Alex and I will be spending the vacation at our aunt's house. It's here, in England." Savana responded. "Where are you going, back to your uncle's house?" She asked.

Savana was rather confused at the response her question provoked. Harry and Hermione silently looked at each other with knowing smiles.

"They wouldn't still be mad at you because of the candy incident, would they? After all, it's not like you gave your cousin the candy and told him to eat it..." Savana asked, trying to make some sense of Harry and Hermione's behavior. Now they were both laughing heartily.

"Please, allow me to enlighten you in respect to my _'loving family'_." Harry requested once he had brought his laughter under control. He then told Savana all about the Dursleys.

"...and my first Christmas here, they sent me a 50 pence piece. It was the best present they ever gave me, aside from sending me here." Harry concluded.

"How charming." Savana said with distaste. She didn't want Harry to spend the holidays alone, even if he did like it here. "Why don't you come to my aunt's house for the break? I'm sure she'd love to have you there." Savana offered.

Harry looked a little dubious.

"Oh, come on. Your parents and mine were friends and my parents will be there as well. My aunt and parents will love meeting you. It'll be fun!" Savana continued trying to convince Harry. Savana stopped talking when she saw that she had swayed Harry toward agreeing with her.

"Well, O.K., if you're sure I won't be a bother." Harry finally responded. "However, I'll need to check with Professor Dumbledore to make sure it's O.K. and to let him know I won't be here over the holiday. I'd better do that immediately."

Harry went off in search of Professor Dumbledore and found him with Professor McGonagall, in her office.

"Ah good, Harry! I wanted to see you about a message I've just recieved from Chief Minnehaha." Professor Dumbledore greeted him.

Harry's curiosity was aroused as he asked, "Has Chief Minnehaha said anything about my most recent vision?"

"Chief Minnehaha was quite intrigued with that and with the Halloween incident." Professor Dumbledore told him with a thoughtful smile. "He believes you have a very rare gift. You are a truth seer."

Harry didn't want to appear ignorant but, he couldn't tell the difference between a truth seer, or any other type of seer. His puzzlement must have shown on his face, because Professor Dumbledore hastened to supply an explaination.

"A truth seer's visions do not need interpretation because they do not contain much, if any, symbolism. The visions are interpreted literally the majority of the time."

Harry still must have looked confused because Professor McGonagall added, "You see things as they will be, Harry." 

"Oh, now I understand," Harry said softly. "And, this is unusual?"

"Yes, the majority of visions are symbolic and must be interpreted...like dreams. Dreams can tell you something, but they usually are not what they first appear to be." Professor Dumbledore could tell from Harry's expression that his explaination still wasn't clear. 

"Think of it this way, Harry," Professor McGonagall once again clairified. "If you dream that you came to potions class wearing only your underware, it usually means that you feel vulnerable. It does not mean that you will appear in class clad only in your knickers."

Harry smiled at the mental image this produced and said, "Now I understand. I had another question to ask you as well. Savana Walker asked me to spend the Christmas holiday at her aunt's house. I think it would be interesting...her parents knew mine..." Harry trailed off as he saw the twinkle in Professor Dumbledore's eyes. He knew he'd be allowed to go to the Walker's house for the Christmas holiday.

...`~*~`...

Harry and Savana were waiting with their baggage by the Hogwarts' entrance the next morning. Alex would soon join them and together they would make the journey to the Walker's ancestral family estate.

"How are we going to get from here to your aunt's home, Savana? Will we be taking the train?" Harry asked. 

"No, I will be driving us there." Alex answered as he joined them.

He made a circle with his left thumb and forefinger, raised them to his lips and whistled shrilly. An ornate black and gold carriage drawn by two large, black pegasae emerged from the barn and rapidly approached them. The carriage came to a halt in front of the threesome.

"All aboard for the Walker estate!" Called Alex as he leaped up past an old fashioned lantern and climbed into the driver's seat. "We've got a long ride ahead, so relax and get comfortable." He called back to his sister and Harry as he adjusted the reigns in his hands.

"You want me to relax...with you driving?! You might as well tell a dragon not to breath fire!" Savana responded sarcastically.

"Harry, remind me to give her a tranquilizer potion before we make the return trip." Alex responded teasingly to his sister's dig.

Then he snapped the reigns, urging the pegasae into motion. The carriage began to move forward with increasing speed, then changed to a skyward vector.

Harry and Savana watched from the windows as the ground moved further away and eventually disappeared from view when they rose above a layer of clouds.

Harry relaxed in his seat and, encouraged by the comfortable rocking motion of the coach, soon fell asleep. 

Savana looked on and began to do the same.

...`~*~`...

The coach came down to earth in a jarring manner and both Harry and Savana awoke with a start.

"Where did you get your diriver's license Alex, in a box of Wheaties?!" Savana demanded.

"Take a chill pill, Savana." Alex laughed at her. "You know landing this rig is the most difficult skill there is to learn and this team is still green."

Harry listened to the exchange between the brother and sister in confusion. He hoped the rest of the family spoke proper English. Otherwise, this holiday would be more like a trip to a foriegn country, the States to be exact.

Harry followed Savana out of the carriage and was about to pick up his bags when a small voice piped, "May I help you with your bags, sir?"

"That's not necessary, Galen. Would you tell my aunt and parents we're here?" Alex asked.

Galen bowed and dashed back into the house.

"You have a house elf?!" Harry asked in suprise.

"Four, actually," Alex informed him.

_"Hermione won't be happy to hear that."_ Harry thought. _"I don't know why I'm so suprised that they have house elves, most families of their status and station do."_

Then Harry realised that Galen had been dressed in real clothing, which meant these house elves were employees of the Walker's, not slaves. Hermione's crusade was against the slavery of house elves, not their employment. Harry relaxed as he realised this, there was no cause for concern here.

Harry picked up his bags and turned to follow Savana and Alex into the house. It was after dusk, so there wasn't alot of light to see by, but Harry took in what he could of his surroundings. 

Alex had landed the carriage in a large courtyard, paved with cobblestones and surrounded by the ancient, vine covered, stone walls of the house on three sides. The forth side of the courtyard was enclosed by another vine covered, stone wall which was about four meters high and dominated by a large archway.

"Wow! This place is enormous!" Harry whispered to Savana. "I thought you were talking about something much smaller, not a country mannor house!"

Savana grinned and said, "I had the same reaction when I first saw this place."

They went through the front door and into the great hall. Harry gapped a little as he looked around. There was a large, sweeping, central stairway which divided into two partway up and was flanked by two matching suits of armour. He could see ancient Coates of Arms and family portraits lining the walls.

Then, a door opened to his right and the threesome was approached by two witches and a wizard. The wizard, and one of the witches, looked alot like Savana, but with emerald green eyes. The other witch resembled a petite, feminine version of Alex.

"Harry, this is my aunt, Christina Walker." Savana said, indicating the auburn haired woman. 

"And these are my parents, Gavin and Fiona Walker. Everyone, this is Harry Potter." 

Harry went to them and they all shook hands. "Thankyou for inviting me, it's nice to meet you." Harry said formally.

"Relax, before you sprain something Harry." Gavin teased as he shook Harry's hand.

Harry looked confused and Christina shot Gavin a dirty look.

"That's enough out of you Gavin. The poor boy has only just met you!" Christina admonished her brother.

Gavin just shrugged and grinned.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Harry. Sirius has told us so much about you." Fiona added with a peculiar lilt in her voice.

"You know Sirius?!" The question popped out of Harry's mouth before he even realised that he had spoken outloud.

"Sirius is an old friend of ours, from our school days." Gavin replied with a smile.

"He'll be here on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day, " Christina added. "I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you here."

Harry smiled with delight. It had been so long since he'd last seen Sirius! This trip was beginning to show some promise.

Galen and another house elf had appeared behind the adults. "May I show you to your rooms, so you can freshen up before dinner?"

"Thankyou, Galen, that would be appreciated." Alex said.

Galen and the other house elf picked up all of the bags and staggered toward the stairway while Harry, Savana and Alex followed.

"Dinner will be in the family dinning room at half-past seven." Fiona called after them. Harry listened to her underlying brogue with interest.

Harry tried to place Fiona's underlying accent. The task was more difficult because Fiona's overwhelming accent was American, but the underlying accent, though originating from the British Isles, wasn't English. He mentally compared some other accents...Welch? No, the vowels were pronounced differently. _"I know, she's Irish!"_ Harry thought triumphantly.

Harry gazed in awe at the various portraits of Walker ancestors as he passed them. Many of the portraits waved to them as the group walked past. The group came to a halt outside the open door of a bedroom suite.

"This will be your room, Master Harry." Galen said as he led Harry into the suite and placed Harry's bags on a stand near the bed. "Will there be anything more, sir?"

Harry mutely shook his head as he tried to take in the opulant chambers.

"Very good, sir." Galen said. Then he bowed and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

_"This is incredible!"_ Harry thought as he looked around him. _"It's like staying in a posh hotel or a palace!"_

Harry had read about estates such as this one, but never even dreamed he'd stay in such a place.

The room decore was done in rich tones of red and gold. The four large windows, with leaded glass panes, were framed by curtains of red and gold brocade. The large, four poster bed had heavy red velvet bed curtains hanging around it and was covered with a gold satin, down comforter. One wall was dominated by a large, stone fireplace. A fire burned cheerfully within and took the chill off the room. The hearth was flanked by two, oxblood, leather wing chairs. There was a door on the left side of the fireplace which led into a large dressing room, closet and lavetory.

Harry suspected his present accomidations were on par with the London Ritz. (Which he had never seen, but had heard about.) He grinned, kicked off his shoes, and dropped back onto the bed so he could daydream for awhile.

...`~*~`...

A little while later, Harry's reveries were interrupted by a soft knock upon the door.

"Harry, we came by to escort you down to dinner. Are you ready to go?" Alex's voice was somewhat muffled by the thick, oak door.

Harry slipped his shoes onto his feet and opened the door. "I'm famished!" He said, closing the door behind him. "I know your father and aunt are British, but where is your mother from, Ireland?"

"Very good, Harry." Alex responded. "Mom grew up just outside of Bantry, Ireland, by the sea. That's probably why we live near the ocean in California. But, most people think she's Native American. What gave her away?"

"She still has a bit of an accent. Though I can understand how her dark coloring would confuse people." Harry admitted.

"Our great-great-grandmother, mom's great-grandmother, was black Irish."1 Savana chimmed in as they approached the family dinning room.

"As you say, cool." Harry said as they entered the dinning room and the topic of Fiona's past was tastefully dropped.

Harry was pleasantly suprised at the cozy intimacy of the family dinning room. It must have shown on his face because Christina said, "We'll be using the formal dinning room when our other guests are her tomorrow evening and on Christmas Day. When it's just the family, however, we prefer a less formal setting."

"This is wonderful." Harry said as he placed some roast beef on his plate. "We eat in the kitchen at my uncle and aunt's house." He chose not to elaborate about the fact that he was treated as the kitchen help there, as well.

Orion appeared then, as if on cue. The cheeky little fellow hopped down next to Alex's plate, placed his front paws on the edge of the china, and surveyed the foods upon it as though he were at a buffet. He daintily selected a large piece of boiled potatoe, then proceeded to drag it with his teeth back toward the edge of the table, and Alex. Once Orion had positioned his prize at the table's edge, he let go of it with his teeth, then gave it a hard push with his nose. The piece of potatoe fell onto Alex's napkin, upon his lap. It was swiftly followed by Orion, who then began to consume his treasure in the safety of Alex's lap.

"Oh, Alex, for Pete's sake! You know better than to bring your pets to the table with you!" Fiona scolded him.

"Oops! Sorry mom." Alex said, blushing.

That little episode led to a lengthy discussion about Alex's animals and their many antics, as well as the occasional disasters. Harry enjoyed hearing these stories.

As Gavin finished telling _'The Ferret Story'_, as the family liked to call the incident, Orion's sooty nose poked up over the table's edge. The nose was quickley followed by a pair of bright, ruby colored, beady eyes.

"No you don't, buster! There are no rats at my table, not even enchanted ones!" Fiona warned him.

Orion vanished from view as quickley as he had appeared. The he climbed up to Alex's shoulder, where he sat half hidden in Alex's hair, and chattered his teeth in anger at Fiona. Then Orion went back into Alex's pocket, to pout.

"Don't be so hard on Orion, mom. Hagrid and I normally let him eat at the table with us, so now Orion thinks that's where he belongs." Alex passionately explained.

"You just be sure to leave Orion in your room for the rest of our meals while you're here." Fiona said stearnly.

"Sorry fella, you've been grounded." Alex whispered into the pocket occupied by Orion, while he slipped the rat a piece of carrot. 

Orion sneezed in response and sullenly ate his carrot.

The adults began telling Harry, Savana and Alex some stories about Harry's parents and the years they had all spent at Hogwart's.

Harry was suprised to learn that Gavin, Christina and Fiona had been in Ravenclaw while they were students at Hogwarts. He'd assumed they were in Gryffindor.

Harry fought a yawn and noticed Savana was doing the same. They were fatigued from their long journey and Fiona appeared to notice.

"It's getting late and we should all be heading to bed." She said gentley.

Harry didn't want to appear rude, but the idea of going to bed was quite attractive. So he joined the group as they trudged upstairs to their respective bedchambers.

Harry was asleep almost before his head hit the pillow.

...`~*~`...

Draco sprawled across a chair in the library of his family's house. He was trying to read a book, but emotionally he was doing a slow burn.

His father was on a rampage about another one of the Death Eaters and Draco was recieving a large portion of the fallout from it. Draco had wanted to make himself scarce, and remain that way, until his father's temper had burned itself out. 

Draco was becoming more angry, not less, about his father's behavior as time passed. Lucius never attempted to change his behavior, but he constantly tried to change Draco's, and Draco was sick of it. Why did he always need to try and please his father instead of just being himself?

Draco contemplated the source of Lucius' current tirade, Raven. Raven was a powerful wizard from the States who had just joined the Death Eaters this past summer. He had quickly become one of Voldemort's favorites and the bane of Lucius Malfoy's existance (and, by extension, Draco's). Lucius claimed that he couldn't tolerate Raven's arrogence, but Draco suspected the real problem was a power struggle which Raven was winning. Whatever the real cause was, Lucius inevitably took out his frusterations on his family.

Draco heard something outside the door. He quickly picked up his book and pretended to be engrossed in it. Lucius threw open the door, stomped in and slammed the door shut behind him.

"So, this is where you're hiding?!" Lucius stated the question as a demand.

"I'm trying to get some of my assignments finished early, so I don't have to waste the holiday thinking about them." Draco responded cautiously. 

_"Why is he angry with me now?"_ Was the thought that ran through Draco's mind, however.

"I saw Marigold Parkinson for tea today..." Lucius gave Draco a penetrating stare.

Draco chose not to react to the look, but couldn't help thinking, _"Why should I give a flying fig who you saw today?"_

"...she spent the entire time bending my ear about how badly you've been treating her sweet, little Pansy." Lucius said the last part in a sarcastic imitation of Marigold.

Draco snorted and said, somewhat bitterly, "I don't think she, or any of the other girls at Hogwarts, has noticed any guy this year except that git who's assisting Hagrid. The way most of the girls act around that guy, you'd think he was a modern Adonis."

"Well, Pansy was aware enough to say that the only girl you're paying any attention to is some Yank in Gryffindor House." Lucius sounded suspicious.

"I'm not romantically interested in Savana...and Pansy knows better...I took Pansy to the Halloween dance!" Draco sputtered as he sought an explaination for his behavior that would put him back into his father's good graces. "I was just keeping an eye on Savana. There's something strange about her...and Professor Snape said something about her family coming back from the dead." Draco was encouraged by his father's sudden smile. "Father, who are the Walkers?"

But Draco's question went unanswered, because Lucius had lept up, shouted gleefully, "Oh, yes! I've got him now!" He left the room in a rush.

Draco was left with a dark, cold feeling inside and the suspicion that he had just betrayed the girl he loved and put her in harm's way.

1. The Black Irish have dark skin, hair, and features due to their African (Moorish) heritage. They are

descendants of the Moors (Africans). Some Black Irish families can trace their lineage back to 

when the Moors invaded Europe and the British Isles, but most families are of mixed race-White

European and Moorish. 


	15. Christmas Tideings and Spiders

(A/N Ok, I think everyone knows the drill by now. I say Harry and crew don't belong to me, blah, blah, blah. With that out of the way, I'll get this chapter on the road and start the next one. ^^ (Drive safely and try not to hit anything....... I mean anyone ^^;)

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 15

Christmas Tidings and Spiders

The next morning Savana lingered at the table with her coffee cup cradled in both hands and inhaled the beverage's aroma deeply. She smiled dreamily and took a sip of the brew. Then she returned to drinking in the coffee's aroma.

"Savana, you look like you're ready to build an alter around that cup of coffee and worship it." Gavin greeted his daughter as he entered the dinning room.

"Mmmm...maybe I should. This is the best coffee I've tasted in months! I feel like I've died and gone to heaven!" Savana said with a happy, lopsided grin.

"I will never understand why you can't just drink tea." Christina added her opinion. "When in Rome..."

Harry laughed inwardly. He had already experienced this particular scenario numerous times during the past few months. 

"Aunt Christina, picture yourself trapped in Poedunk, South Dakota. There are no specialty shops. The only grocer in town thinks that Lipton Tea is haute cusine...you are now entering...don, don, don...my twilight zone!" Savana said melodramatically.

"All right...stop, already...I get your point!" Christina dissolved into laughter.

"What are you doing this morning?" Fiona asked.

"Harry and I thought we'd tour the grounds." Savana said and examined her, now empty, coffee cup. She sighed and set the cup down. "Well, Harry, shall we?..."

"Don't forget, we're going shopping after lunch." Fiona called after them as they exited the room.

Harry and Savana walked out the back door and into what was obviously a formal garden, even though it was covered with a thick blanket of snow.

"This garden must be absolutely increadible during the warmer seasons." Harry said in awe.

"There's supposed to be a labyrinth somewhere on the grounds too." Savana informed him. "I haven't seen it yet, but we weren't here very long before Alex and I left for Hogwarts. So, there's alot here that I haven't explored."

Harry looked back at the mannor house. It was impressive. He guessed the main portion of the house had been built during the late 14th century. It was of stone and masonry construction with a slate roof and four stories high. The main portion was flanked by two matching, two story wings. They appeared to have been added at a later date, late 15th century, perhaps. Well established vines covered most of the building and would soften its appearence once spring arrived but, for now, only the bare, woody stems gave away their existance.

Harry followed Savana along a cleared path through the garden, then slogged through the knee deep snow beside her as they wandered toward some nearby ruins. The ruins were partially covered by snow, but it was still possible to see the skeletal structure of an old house which had met with some sort of catastrophic disaster.

"What happened here?" Harry inquired as he took in the utter destruction around him. "It looks like this house was blown-up."

"This is where dad, mom and Alex lived before Voldemort got to it, and almost to them." Savana replied gravely.

Harry's face darkened, "I'm sorry." He said.

Don't be...after all, you didn't have anything to do with it...besides, that all happened before I was born." Savana hastened to reply.

Harry kicked absently at a piece of the scorched rubble. Then he reached down and picked it up. He studied the blackend piece of rock and morter closely. 

Suddenly Harry's eyes glazed over. He turned pale and began to sweat profusely, despite the cold. After a few minutes Harry dropped the piece of rubble as though it were suddenly on fire.

"Harry, are you..." Savana began to say, but Harry interrupted her.

"Yes, it was another vision." Harry replied. "And it was extremely violent as well as frightening."

"I saw Voldemort and a group of Death Eaters surrounding an old, three story, Tudor type house. The house appeared to be empty, the occupants were probably asleep since it was dark out and there was no one else around. Then, Voldemort and the Death Eaters pointed their wands at the house and cast some sort of spell. The house was surrounded by a green light, then it burst into flames and exploded." 

Harry was violently shaking and bathed in a cold sweat when he finished telling Savana of his vision. Then he asked her, "Did your parents ever tell you why Voldemort attacked your family?"

Savana shook her head, "No. Alex and I just assumed Voldemort tried to kill the family because we were allied with Professor Dumbledore."

"That doesn't explain everything." Harry said through chattering teeth. "Why hasn't he attacked your aunt? She's been living in England since the first attack."

"I don't know the answer to that question. We'll need to ask someone about it when we get back inside, which we had better do immediately. You don't look very well." Savana replied.

They quickly retraced their steps back toward the mannor house so they could eat lunch, then go shopping with Savana's family.

...`~*~`...

Dinner that evening was a riotous affair. 

Sirius had arrived that afternoon and was delighted to discover that Harry was also spending the holiday with the Walkers.

The conversation during, and after dinner, revolved around Hagwart's and the experiences they had all had there.

Harry, Alex and Savana discovered that their parents, as well as several of the other adults they knew, had been quite fond of playing pranks during their years at Hogwart's. The majority of their pranks had been relatively harmless; such as the time they had enchanted 20 owls to fly one-by-one through The History of Magic class chanting, _"Wake Up! Wake Up! Isn't he boring?!"_

Professor Binns had not appreciated the prank, but the students (and some of the staff) had gotten quite a chuckle from it.

Then, when they were about 15 years old, they had collectively used a levitation spell on a rowboat which was occupied by Severus Snape and a girl whom he was courting. (They never had discovered her identity.) The rowboat, and its occupants, had come to rest in the upper branches of a large, old oak tree near the lake. 

They had made themselves scarce as soon as the boat had settled in the tree, so they didn't know how Severus and his date had extricated themselves from the situation. They had come back down after lights out, however, and returned the rowboat to its proper location. They didn't want to upset Professor Dumbledore. He didn't mind pranks, as long as the perpetrators didn't harm anyone, or anything, and everything was returned to the way it had been before the prank was played.

The group of merry mischief makers had discovered this due to their first prank, which had near disasterous results. The group had collected 10 garden gnomes and released them into the Herbology Laboratory. The results had nearly destroyed the place! The gnomes had immediately made themselves at home and had invited their friends and families to come and join them. A short time later, the Herbology Laboratory was in ruins and overrun with gnomes.

It had taken the combined strength of the staff and the upper classmen to remove the nasty, little creatures. The pranksters had recieved a month of detention, most of which was spent cleaning and re-establishing the Herbology Laboratory.

"...so don't get any brilliant ideas about following in our footsteps..." Sirius warned after seeing the sly looks exchanged by Savana and Harry. "...Professor Dumbledore is wise to our ways and will surely catch you."

Alex, for his part, was quietly amused to discover that his seemingly straight-laced parents had actually been normal kids.

It was rather late by the time they decided to call it a night. 

It wasn't visions of sugar plums which danced in Harry, Savana and Alex's dreams that night, but instead, levitating rowboats and rampaging garden gnomes.

...`~*~`...

Christmas morning dawned bright and sunny. 

Harry tumbled out of bed and rushed to answer the pounding on his door.

"Merry Christmas! Come on sleepyhead!" Savana laughed as he opened the door. "Let's go down and eat breakfast. When we've finished, we get to open presents!"

"Happy Christmas!" Harry greeted Savana. Then he grabbed his robe and followed her down the hallway.

Harry was suprised when breakfast that morning turned out to be a hurried affair with little of the conversation and comraderie which he had already become accustomed to in this house.

As soon as they had finished eating, the entire group of family and guests, retired to a nearby, cozy, sitting room where a fire burned cheerfully in the hearth.

The house elves had been busy on Christmas Eve day, decorating the house for the holidays and this room was no exception. The doorways and fireplace were framed with fresh pine garlands which sparkeled with pixie dust and bathed the room with a light pine scent. Seven multi-colored, hand crocheted stockings hung from the mantle. They were stuffed with all manner of edible treats and Harry's mouth began to water just looking at them. A small, beautifully decorated Christmas tree graced the corner near the fireplace. The candles at the end of each bough were lit with a spell that caused them to give off shimmering, multi-colored light. A large pile of gayley wrapped packages was stacked beneath the tree.

Everyone, except Christina who took up a post by the stockings, found a place to sit. Once they were settled Christina proceedeed to hand out the stockings, then the packages. There was plenty for everyone and they quickly busied themselves with tearing off the wrappings and discovering what gifts lay within.

Harry watched with amusement as Alex withdrew a smaller, bulging stocking from the on which Christina had handed him. 

"Hey, Orion, Merry Christmas." Alex said quietly.

A pink pair of rat's paws and a sooty nose and whiskers appeared over the top edge of Alex's robe pocket. They were soon followed by Orion's head and upper body as the curious rodent emerged and looked around.

Fiona had relented on her _'No Rats Rule'_ for this particular occaision, so she was not upset by Orion's appearence at the family gathering. She even wished Alex's pet a warm, _"Happy Christmas"_ when Orion scampered excitedly onto Alex's lap and began to pull his treats out of his little stocking. Orion examined each one before going on to the next. Eventually Orion settled upon a large nut, which he then carried off to Alex's pocket to enjoy in peace.

Harry recieved the usual assorted treats and gifts from his friends. (Of course, the Dursleys hadn't even sent a note.) Mrs. Weasley had knit him another sweater and Sirius had given him an unusual checkers set. The pieces were small red and black cups instead of the discs typically used to play the game.

"What are these used for?" Harry asked as he examined one of the tiny cups.

"You fill each one with butterbeer, then when you jump a piece, you drink the butterbeer from it."1 Sirius explained.

"I have a feeling this is not a game to indulge in when one has a full stomach." Gavin laughed as he looked over the strange game pieces.

Harry picked up his last remaining package and searched it but, found no indication as to whom it was from. He tore off the wrappings then opened the box. Inside was a golden mesh belt with a cresent moon buckle and an exquisite set of dress robes.

"Wow! I wonder who these are from?" Harry breathed as he pulled the robes from the box so he could examine them more closely.

"I suspected you might need a set of dress robes for our holiday parties. They're formal and I doubt Savana thought to warn you when she invited you here." Fiona said softly.

Fiona had guessed correctly, Savana hadn't thought to warn Harry about the formal attire. Savana made a face at her mother, but Harry didn't notice.

"Thankyou, these are wicked." Harry said.

The robes were a rich shade of maroon, made from a material which looked and felt like silk. (Which, in fact, it was.) The high collar opened in the front of the neck and was trimmed with gold braid. A small emerald stud adorned either side of the collar. The long, flowing sleeves were tastefully edged with gold glitter. The accompanying belt could be worn with the robes, for a different effect.

A little while later they all went upstairs to dress and to decide what to do before the party that evening. Harry and Savana intended to do some more exploring.

...`~*~`...

Harry gazed in awe at the ballroom as he entered that evening. Pine wreaths and garlands, festooned with balls of holly and red, velvet ribbons, decorated the walls. At one end of the room stood an enormous fir tree, decorated with a variety of ornaments, lights, ... and, strangely, some jeweled spiders and glittering spider webs?! Harry approached the tree so he could more closely examine what he suspected was either a figment of his imagination, or a very strange American custom.

Harry stared closely at a few of the metalic, jewel encrusted spiders as they worked their way around the tree's branches. Two of the spiders were spinning webs of glittering, gossimer strands. They actually made beautiful, and unusual, Christmas tree decorations.

"I see you like our Christmas spiders."2 Fiona spoke-up from beside Harry.

"Oh, is that what they're called?" Harry felt clueless and it showed in his voice. "Are they an American custom?"

"No, actually the legend is German, I believe." Fiona gently plucked one of the tiny creatures from the tree and studied it as it crawled along her hand. "Would you like to hear the story?"

Harry nodded and watched as Fiona placed the spider back on the tree where she had taken it from.

"Late one Christmas Eve, a house spider came out of her hiding place and saw a wonderous sight. The family of the house had just put up and decorated their Christmas tree. The spider crawled all over the tree, admiring it. When Santa Claus arrived the tree was covered with spider webs as a result of the spider's explorations. Santa knew the family would be very upset to find their beautiful Christmas tree covered with spider webs the next morning, however, he was also touched by the spider's desire to experience and be part of such beauty. So, Santa gave a gift to both the spider and the family. He turned the web into threads of silver and gold. Ever since that night, there have been Christmas Spiders and our family has kept them on the 

the tree for generations." Fiona concluded.

"I love that story!" Savana said from behind them. "But you never tell it anymore."

"I should think that by this time, you would be able to tell the story yourself." Gavin teased as he approached the group. "Fiona, I need you to come and greet our guests with Christina and me. They're arriving now."

"Oh, certainly...please, excuse me." Fiona said. Then she joined Gavin and walked back to the ballroom entrance with him.

Harry couldn't help but to notice how different Savana looked from her usual, casual self. Tonight, her appearence was absolutely regal. Her hair was styled in a French role. She had a couple of diamond and saphire dragonfly pins in it and some type of crystals sprinkled over it. The overall effect made her appear as though she had walked through a light sprinkling of snow. She wore dangling diamond and saphire earrings and a matching necklace. Her dress robe was made of saphire blue velvet and trimmed in white satin...

Then, Harry's attention was diverted by a familiar voice which stood out from the rest of the growing crowd. 

"Professor Lupin?!" Harry breathed as he turned toward the voice. Harry saw Remus Lupin standing with Alex and Sirius. He began to walk toward them and Savana followed along.

"Harry Potter! Sirius told me you were visiting here!" Remus greeted him. "And this must be Savana Walker." Remus extended his hand to her.

"Let me guess, Alex has told you all about me." Savana said wryly as she shook Remus's hand. "I'll bet it was quite entertaining." She concluded and arched an eyebrow in her brother's direction.

Remus laughed and shook his head _'no.' _"Actually, it was your aunt and parents. How do you like attending Hogwarts?"

Savana smiled and the conversation turned to Hogwarts.

The party began to break up around 11:00 P.M. and by midnight everyone was gone, except the family and their houseguests.

Alex, Savana and Harry decided it was time for bed and started up the stairs while the adults decided to retire to the sitting room for a night cap.

Harry was almost to his room before he remembered that he wanted to thank the Walkers for everything they had done for him. Harry had never experienced a real family Christmas celebration before and this experience had been wonderful so far. The family's warm acceptance really meant something to him. Harry turned around and began to walk back down toward the room the adults were in.

Harry gazed at the portraits while he walked past them. Most of them were either sleeping or away at parties of their own. Harry decided he must be overly tired when he thought he saw Orion sitting on the shoulder of a Walker relative from the Victorian era. He shook his head to clear it and walked on.

Harry slowed as he approached the door to the sitting room. He couldn't help but to overhear the conversation of the adults within. They were having an argument of some sort.

He stood outside the door, unsure of whether he should go in or not.

"...the Staff of Time is still hidden in the labyrinth. I really think we should tell them about it, before they go back to school." Fiona's soft voice carried in the otherwise silent house.

"I'd rather wait until they're older." Said Gavin. "Knowlege of the Staff of Time is a very heavy responsibility. I'd prefer to spare them from that for a little while, at the very least."

"Our parents didn't tell us about the staff until I had graduated from Hogwarts..." Christina began to say.

Remus quietly interrupted her, though. "The reason your parents told you then was because Voldemort had begun to rise to power and they were afraid of what he might do..."

"Well, they were certainly correct, in that respect." Sirius added darkly. "I know you haven't asked for my opion, but I'm going to give it to you anyway...Voldemort destroyed your house, killed your parents and almost killed all of you trying to get that bloody staff 17 years ago. He only wanted the staff to add to his power in those days. Now, Voldemort wants the staff so that he can go back in time and make sure he kills Harry, as well as for its power. That's a terrifying concept."

Harry felt a chill go through him to the bone when he heard that.

"Merlin made sure that the staff was well protected before he disappeared." Fiona said.

"But, we all know that with enough research and the right genetic traits, the protection is useless. And Voldemort is a descendant of Morgana Le Fey..."

Harry quietly turned and began to make his way back to his room. He felt sick inside and wished he hadn't evesdropped, even though he hadn't meant to do so. He had unwittingly gained access to some terrible knowlege and he was unsure of what to do with it. The question of whether or not to tell Savana and Alex what he had learned tonight burned within Harry as he lay in bed a short time later.

Harry finally fell into an uneasy sleep after contemplating the situation for a long time. 

He dreamed he was in a cave and the Staff of Time was in an alcove before him, but it was enclosed in a transparent, crystaline case that resembled a stalactite. He knew that he had to get the staff or something terrible would happen, so he reached out a hand and placed it on the case containing the Staff of Time. The case felt colder than ice where Harry's hand touched it. It was burning him, but he was unable to remove his hand. The extreme cold flowed from the case, through Harry's hand and throughout his body. It was killing him!

1. This particular checkers game is based upon a perverted form of the game which the characters 

Hawkeye and Trapper invented in the T.V. series: M.A.S.H.

2. The origin of the Christmas Spider legend is unclear. However, it is commonly believed to be 

German. 


	16. Boxing Day Blues

(A/N Harry Potter and Rowling's other characters do not belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling. Characters not seen in Rowlings books do belong to me, however, so paws off! Oi, I'm getting tired of saying this all the time! -_- Allright, on with the story, and someone go wake-up my ghost writer!)

**Harry Potter and the Staff of Time**

__

chapter 16

Boxing Day Blues

Harry awoke from his nightmarish vision shaking and drenched with sweat. His pajamas and the bedclothes were soaking wet. It was 5:30 A.M. and Harry knew that getting anymore sleep now was a pipedream. He wished there were someone else awake whom he could talk with, but the house was silent.

Harry changed into a dry set of clothes while he thought about what he would do to occupy himself until some of the others woke up. He recalled seeing an extensive library when Savana and he had been exploring yesterday. He decided to go there and find something to read. He specifically wanted to find information on Merlin and the Staff of Time and he suspected this could be the best place in the world in which to find it. So, Harry grabbed his wand, to provide some light, and off he went in search of the library.

Harry thought he remembered where the library was, but the house proved to be large and confusing. Soon, Harry realised he was lost. He was now in a section of the house that appeared to be unoccupied and was used mainly for storage. Harry sighed. This was not how he had planned to spend Boxing Day.1 

Harry opened a door which he thought might lead to another hallway, or some stairs. Unfortunately, it only lead to a large room which was empty except for a few pieces of furniture which were covered with sheets. Harry shut the door and walked down to the next one. The room only contained more furniture in storage. He sighed. After trying several more doors, Harry reached the last one at the end of the hallway. He opened it and looked inside. It lead to a stairway, but the staircase only went up to the third floor. There was no corresponding stairway which led to the lower floors.

Harry thought about simply closing the door and trying to retrace his steps back to the main portion of the house. Unfortunately, he had already made so many turns that he wasn't even sure of his present location. So, he decided to climb the stairway and hope he found a way down once he reached whatever was at the top of the stairs.

Harry cautiously mounted the stairway and climbed to the top of it. The stairway opened into a large, cavernous room...an attic of sorts which was used as a storage area. Harry saw piles of boxes, trunks, old furniture, tapistries, etc., piled neatly along the eves for as far as his wand illuminated. All of the items were covered with a thick layer of dust. Cobwebs hung from every convient spot. Four small garret windows were high on one wall and let in the anemic dawn light.

Harry suddenly realised how late it was and just how long a time he had been wandering through the house. He needed to find a way back to the main section of the house. Harry decided to climb up to one of the windows and look outside. Maybe then he could figure out where he was and how to get back to the main house.

Harry piled several trunks and boxes ontop of each other, then climbed on top of them and looked out the window. The early morning light bathed a portion of the formal gardens and the ruins beyond them. Harry could tell from the view that he was in the backside of the west wing. He was about to climb down when he saw something curious in the distance; a circle of enormous standing stones. He stared for a minute, then realised exactly what he was looking at...it was Stonehenge!

As interesting as this discovery was, it didn't change the fact that the sun was climbing higher in the sky and he hadn't yet found his way back to civilization.

Harry climbed down from the stack of boxes and as he was stepping down onto the last box, he heard the ancient wood groan and crack. The surface began to give away under his right foot. So, Harry quickly lept off of it and onto the floor. He examined the damage he had inadvertantly caused to the crate. The wood had caved in to create an opening roughley 1/2 meter in diameter. 

Harry saw the ends of several parchment scrolls through the opening and, out of pure curiosity, he carefully reached inside and withdrew one of the scrolls. Its case was covered with a fine coating of dust. Harry gently released the case clasp and withdrew the scroll and partially unfurled it. His eyes widened in suprise as he read the first few lines penned upon the ancient manuscript. It read: _"Spell for Awakening the Dragon..."_

Harry found the reading a bit difficult because the handwriting was spidery and faded. He did learn one thing just from the title though, this manuscript had been penned by the wizard Merlin himself! Harry knew this because during their studies of Merlin in _The History of Magic_ class, Professor Binns had told them there were some spells which only Merlin had been able to cast. The most well known of these spells was Merlin's _Spell for Awakening the Dragon._

Harry carefully replaced the scroll in its case. He was about to put it back where he had found it when he decided instead to bring the scroll with him and show it to Savana and Alex.

Harry made his way to the far end of the chamber. He was very happy to find a stairway there which descended all the way to the first floor. Harry quickly found his way back to the main house and, from there, to his room. Once he was in his room, he put the scroll on the mantle. Then he quickly washed up and went down to join the others at breakfast.

Harry was more than a bit suprised to find the house elves sitting at the table in Gavin, Fiona and Christina's places.

"Harry, we were about to go up and get you!" Sirius boomed.

"Have a seat." Alex said grandly and indicated an empty chair with a sweep of his hand.

"Ummm...where are your aunt and parents?" Harry asked in confusion as he took a seat at the table.

"In the kitchen. It's Boxing Day." Savana said as though this should all make perfect sense to Harry.

"Please, pardon my ignorance, but I thought Boxing Day simply meant we boxed-up the Christmas decorations. I fail to understand how that would explain why your parents and aunt are in the kitchen." Harry explained.

All of those assembled turned their eyes toward Galen, who had cleared his throat to gain their attention. "At one time, it was common practice in the United Kingdom for those in charge to change places with their underlings on Boxing Day. This family has not indulged in this Boxing Day tradition for many years. This year, however, the adults decided it would be amusing to try it once again." He piped.

The door to the kitchen swung open and the adults in question entered baring various platters of food or beverages. They began to serve the items to everyone who was seated at the table.

"Um, just out of curiosity...who did the cooking?" Alex asked with suspicion as he eyed the charred piece of bread that Gavin had just put on his plate.

"We all made at least one thing, but we aren't going to tell you who made what." Fiona explained as she filled Savana's cup with coffee, or rather, something that was supposed to pass for coffee. It more closely resembled liquid tar and Savana gave it a dubious look. She wasn't sure she wanted to expose either her taste buds or her stomach to the nasty looking, and smelling, stuff.

Harry gulped as Christina spooned a scortched smelling, lumpy gruel into his bowl from a large tureen.

"O.K. everyone, enjoy!" Gavin said heartily. "We've got alot of cleaning up to do in the kitchen, so if you need us, just give a holler."

_"Eating this toxic sludge could prove to be hazardous to my health!" _Savana thought loudly.

_"I heard that!" _Fiona thought back at her daughter. She gave Savana a look of disapproval and arched her eyebrow, a sign of irritation, for good measure.

_"So-rrr-y!" _Savana thought back. Then she pretended to take a sip of the foul concoction in her cup. She pressed her lips together and fought not to retch at the smell issuing forth from it.

As soon as the breakfast crowd was certain that the _'cooks' _would not make a suprise return, Alex looked at Sirius and Remus. Then he hissed at them in a stage whisper, "Quickly...one of you...please, make this _'food'_ disappear!" 

"Galen, could you and the other elves get real food for yourselves?" Galen nodded. "Then you are on your own for breakfast. The rest of you, meet me in my room in 15 minutes. I'll see what I can liberate from the pantry and bring it up for us." Alex continued as the toxic substances that masqueraded as their breakfast vanished.

They all nodded a grim acknowlegement to Alex's plan and dispersed.

Remus, Sirius, Savana and Harry reassembled in Alex's room and discussed what they might do to contain any further collateral damage until the Boxing Day exchange ended at midnight. They had just decided that Remus and Sirius would try to supervise the errant cooks after they had eaten, when there was a banging at the door. 

Remus opened it and Alex staggered in with his arms full of food. He quickly deposited his booty on a table. Then he began to remove utensils, napkins, etc. from his pockets while Savana began to lay out the food. Once he had emptied his pockets, Alex disappeared back out the door and returned with some dishes which he set upon the table.

"Sorry folks, I wasn't able to pilfer any coffee or tea. Those are under guard in the kitchen." Alex explained while the others began to help themselves to the food. "I don't understand how our parents and aunt Christina ever passed potions class with the way they cook. You need the same skills to make a potion as you do to cook food." He continued while shaking his head in disbelief.

Remus and Sirius both began to turn red and gave each other knowing looks.

"Ahhh..., they had a little help..." Remus stuttered. "...fortunately for them, they were all in the same potions class and a potions geek had a huge crush on Christina."

"Thank the powers that be for that happy coincidence. Otherwise, they probably would have blown-up the school." Sirius added with a mysterious twinkle in his eyes. "That's all we're going to say about the subject." He added as Savana sought to get more information on the topic.

Alex sat down by Orion's open cage with a large bowl of yogurt and stirred in some strawberry preserves. Orion appeared and scampered up onto Alex's shoulder where he sniffed curiously at the bowl of yogurt in Alex's lap.

Alex lifted a spoonful of yogurt to his mouth and Orion stood-up on his hind legs, leaned forward toward the spoon and sniffed at it. Alex ate the spoonful of yogurt and Orion sat back down with a disgusted look. Then Orion leaned forward sniffing again. He lost his balance and scittered down Alex's chest landing with and undignified _'SPLOT!'_ in the bowl of yogurt.

The group began to laugh heartily as Orion sat-up with a large dallop of yogurt dripping off of his nose. He began to move toward the edge of the dish and toward Alex.

"Oh no you don't, yogurt boy! It's bath time for you!" Alex said as he picked up the yogurt bowl, which still contained the rat, and headed for the bathroom. The laughter of the other's followed him.

"Well, on that entertaining note, we're going to take our leave..." Remus said with a laugh. "...and go supervise our comrades before they destroy something more than our lunch." 

Sirius and Remus left and Alex came back into the room carring a very soggy Orion wrapped in a fluffy towel. Orion did not look very happy about his present situation.

"Now that we're alone, I've got something I want to show you." Harry announced. "Wait here."

Harry ran into his room and grabbed the scroll off of the mantle. Then he returned to Alex's room with it and told them the story of his early morning adventure.

Harry left out the parts about his vision and the conversation he had overheard the night before. He still wasn't sure about whether or not he should tell Alex and Savana about it. Deep down inside, Harry hoped the situation would resolve itself if he waited long enough.

Savana carefully opened the case's clasp and removed the scroll from it. (Alex was still trying to dry Orion.) "Woah! Merlin's spell for awakening the dragon! Look at this!" She shouted gleefully while she shoved the parchment in front of her brother's face.

"Where did you say you found that?" Alex inquired. He had finished drying Orion, who now closely resembled a static charged puffball with a rat head and tail stuck on it. Orion stalked indignantly into his hidey-hole.

"In an attic, in the other wing of the house. I'll show you. I'm sure I can find my way back there." Harry offered.

"Let's go exploring then." Alex announced as he jumped up and headed out the door with Savana following him and Harry taking the lead.

Harry looked at the portrait that he thought he'd seen Orion in the night before as they passed it. Then he stopped short. The rat was there again! Harry could see the tip of its nose sticking out of the wizard's pocket for a brief moment. Then the rat scrambled down and disappeared from the picture. 

"Am I going bonkers, or did I just see Orion just in that portrait?" Harry asked the other two.

Sir Percival, the man pictured in the portrait, laughed and said, "If it's my pet rat you are asking about, sir, he is in my portrait because it is the height of fashion. Now, where did you get to? You little rascal..." Sir percival wandered off in search of his pet.

"What was that all about?" Savana asked and shook her head in confusion.

"It was fashionable in the Victorian era for people, even muggles, to sit for portraits with their pet rats. You see, pet rats, especially white ones, were all the rage in England at that time." Alex explained to them as they started off for the attic once more.

"What are you, the walking animal and Native American trivia king?!" Savana inquired sarcastically.

"I'm just a very well educated individual." Alex teased in response to his sister's dig. Then he ran up the stairway as Savana swatted at him and chased after him.

They were as excited and amazed at Harry's discovery as he had been earlier that morning. They began their explorations with the box of scrolls Harry had accidently discovered. Most of the scrolls contained Merlin's spells and some of them proved impossible to understand because they were written in another language. They couldn't tell, without further research, whether the language was Celtic, Middle-English, Latin, or even Norman, all of which were used in Briton during Merlin's time.

"Well, this is just another mystery to unravel." Savana muttered.

"Maybe Hermione could give us some help when we get back to Hogwart's." Harry suggested.

"That's a good idea, but let's worry about it later." Alex suggested. "Maybe something else up here will explain them."

The others agreed and they decided they would make better use of their time if they explored seperately instead of together in a group. 

Savana opened a trunk which contained several old robes, hats, and a bunch of books. Savana dug through the books, most of which were old text books, but a small stack were not labeled so, she pulled one out and began to thumb through it.

"Hey, you guys, I found someone's old diaries!" Savana crowed.

"Did they belong to Merlin?!" Alex and Harry both asked hopefully.

"No such luck...the handwriting looks feminine...there are comments about Hogwarts in here...but I don't see anything that states who wrote this...I think I'll bring these down to my room for a little bedtime reading...the light's better there..."Savana informed them while she continued to skim through the journal. Then she set it down on the floor, removed the others from the trunk and set them ontop of the first book forming a neat stack. Savana replaced the other items in the trunk, closed the lid and pushed it back against the wall. She went on to the next trunk and they all labored in silence for a time.

Harry was looking through a batch of portraits and tapestries, stacked against another wall, when he made a discovery which caused him to yelp in suprise.

"Alex, Savana, come and look at this tapistry I've found!" Harry called with excitement after he had laid a large tapistry out on the floor. "I wish the light in here was better,...I can't make out several of the details..."

"I may be able to do something about the light." Alex said, "I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. _Luminerous incandessa!_" He intoned along with a wave of his hand above his head. Several globes, which gave off a bright, blue-white light, appeared and floated above their heads.

"Much better!" Alex said with a smug, self-satisfied air. He strolled over to where Harry and Savana were examining the tapistry in question.

"Wicked!" Harry breathed. "It's Merlin and someone named Nimaway. Who is she?" He asked as he studied the names woven into the tapistry under the portraits.

"We appear to be discovering more questions than answers." Savana said. "Maybe one of the adults knows the answer to this one."

"If I didn't know better," Alex said as he studied the tapistry, "I'd swear this is the Phantom Forest..."

Alex's speculation was cut short by a blood curdling scream that sounded like it was coming from the main house! It was soon joined by other, similar screams.

"What is that?!" Harry and Savana shouted in unison over the ear piercing shrieks.

"It's the smoke alarm!" Alex said dourly, as he ran to a stack of boxes piled under a window and climbed on top of them. "Aunt Christina has screech owls roosting throughout the house. They serve as smoke alarms." He explained.

Alex looked out the window and saw enormous clouds of black smoke belching from the direction of the kitchen.

"...of all the...!" Alex said heatedly as he jumped down from the boxes and extinguished the extra lights. "It looks like they've managed to blow-up the kitchen!" 

"You're not saying that seriously, are you?!" Harry demanded as he clattered down the stairs behind Savana and Alex. "We left Remus and Sirius in charge of them and the kitchen, that should have been enough to prevent any catastrophies."

"I don't think that even Professor Dumbledore could help them learn to cook properly!" Alex panted as they tore down a hallway.

They were not able to approach the kitchen through the house because the smoke was so thick that they couldn't breath without a gas mask, or something similar. They went outside and approached the kitchen door on the backside of the house. The sight which greeted them when they reached the disaster sight would have been hysterically funny if the cause had not been so serious.

The five adults were all smoke blackened and covered in soot. Fiona held a roasting pan that contained something that looked like a large lump of coal.

"Oh, my lovely roast!" She wailed. "Maybe, if we scraped off the black parts, we could still eat it." She said hopefully.

Then Fiona showed the burnt offering to Gavin. He studied it thoughtfully then shook his head in resignation.

"Sorry love, it appears to be a total loss." Gavin said and gave her a consoling hug. The he had a coughing fit and belched out a puff of smoke. "Oops, excuse me." He muttered contritely. Then he began to cough again.

"Oh dear! Now what will we serve for lunch?" Fiona inquired mornfully as she dropped the crisp-fried roast on the ground, pan and all.

"I vote for Mac and Don's Supper Club!" Alex said as he approached the bedraggled little group. "What happened here, or need I even ask?"

Remus and Sirius grinned at the _'kids'_ sheepishly and gave them a half-hearted wave of greeting.

"Umm...Fiona...?" Remus stammered.

Fiona sighed and impatiently swiped at an errant lock of hair that kept falling into her eyes. Then she began to explain, sounding more like a child caught up to mischief than the mother of two children. "The cookbook said the roast would take three hours to cook at the temperature which they recommended. That meant it wouldn't be ready untill half an hour after lunch was supposed to be served. So, I decided to help it along and cooked it at a higher temperature...so it wouldn't take as long...then it began to smoke...it burst into flame..."

"Mo-om! I can't believe you did that...again! Don't you remember the turkey incident six years ago?!" Savan demanded and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"I thought your job was to prevent this from happening." Harry whispered to his godfather.

"There's only so much a fella can do, Harry." Sirius whispered back to him.

"...still need to clean up the kitchen. You can't leave this mess for the house elves. It's supposed to be their day off." Harry heard Christina saying.

"We'll make a deal with you," Alex suggested. "We'll help you clean-up this mess if you'll agree to get take-out for lunch and dinner."

The adults nodded in resignation, then went to their rooms to bathe and clean-up. 

Harry, Savana and Alex went into town to get lunch for them all and were happy they would not have to eat anymore of the adults' cooking.

...`~*~`...

That night Savana curled up in bed with some of the journals she had found earlier. The Boxing Day Exchange was almost over and she was thankfull they had been able to avoid any further catastrophes. It had taken most of the afternoon and evening to clean up the mess in the kitchen.

She checked inside the first journal to see if she could discover who the writter was, but there was nothing written there, not even the year. She skimmed the entries but they didn't contain much of interest to her. It appeared to have been written by a pre-teen and most of the entries were about what she had done in class that day, etc. The next book she skimmed was much the same except there were several segments complaining about how difficult potions class was.

_"Now I know this was written by mother or aunt Christina."_ Savana thought wryly as she went onto the next journal.

Savana's jaw dropped in disbelief as she read the third journal. An entry of particular interest to her read:_ "...the nicest boy offered to be my partner in potions class. He's in Slytherin, but that doesn't matter...he knows how much trouble I have with potions and he's a genius in it! I might actually pass the class with his help...Severus said he's sorry he can't help Fiona and Gavin, as well as me..."_

"No way!" Savana thought with delight._ "Snape is the potions geek who helped them! I've got to tell Alex and Harry!"_

Then she realised how late it was. She would have to wait until tomorrow to tell them the news. Savana yawned. She was getting sleepy, but she wanted to skim just one more of Aunt Christina's diaries.

_"Oh, this is just too good!"_ She thought a short time later. _"I can hardly wait to tease Aunt Christina about this!"_

Savana had just read the entry about the infamous levitating rowboat! She re-read the last few lines of the passage with decadent delight.

_"...Severus is furious! It took half an hour to climb down out of that tree! (And I tore my robes on it!) He's sure James Potter and his friends are the culprets...I overheard Gavin and Fiona in the common room, though...it seems that James was involved, but the whole stunt was Gavin's idea!...I'd shoot him at sunrise, but he doesn't know I was the other person in the boat...if he did, he'd never cease to tease me about it..."_

Savana yawned again and set the book aside. She would have loved to have read some more, but her eyelids were getting heavy and it was too hard to fight sleep any longer. She smiled as she laid down and closed her eyes. She knew her discovery tonight would blow Alex and Harry away!

1. Boxing Day-the day after Christmas many nations with roots in the United Kingdom celebrate Boxing 

Day. The name is derived from the fact that this was when most Christmas decorations had to be

taken down since they were fresh and didn't last much longer than a couple of days. The Boxing Day

exchange idea actually came from the military. Officers would change places with enlisted men on

Boxing Day to help raise morale.


	17. Shadows of the Past

(A/N Harry Potter and other characters do not belong to me,etc.......... Aw, forget it. I'm going to go play with my Playstation!)

**Harry Potter and the Staff of Time**

__

Chapter 17

Shadows of the Past

Savana had told her bit of news to Alex and Harry as soon as they had retreated to the attic the next morning. Alex and Harry hooted with laughter and found the picture of Aunt Christina and Professor Snape as incongruent as Savana had. 

"That's more than I ever wanted to know about my potions professor." Harry said with a laugh.

Then they turned their collective attention to the task of getting the attic to reveal its secrets to them.

After a few hours of fruitless searching, Harry made a discovery. He had just unfurled yet another tapestry when he crowed, "Aha! I now know the identity of Nimaway. She was Merlin's wife, and your ancestor!"

"What! Cool! Seriously?!" Alex and Savana cried in tandem as they approached Harry and his find.

"Look, here." Harry said as he pointed to a pair of names at the base of an ancient family tree. "...at least I think it's probably the same woman as we saw in the portrait. The name is spelled differently, but should be pronounced in the same mannor, Nimue."1 Harry clairified.

The three studied the ancient family tree carefully. The old tapistry had become a bit brittle with age and several of the names on it were difficult to read, but Merlin and Nimue were definately the pair at the base of the tree.

"That answers one question, at least." Alex said.

"Actually, it answers several." Harry said as he stood up and stretched. "I did alot of reading about Merlin and King Arthur before I found out I was a wizard...don't look at me that way!...every kid in the British Isles knows several of the Arthur and Merlin legends. Many of them are conflicting...of course, what can you expect? They date back to the fifth century...the dark ages...but, there are some common themes. One is that Merlin fell in love with Nimue...and a few of them said that Nimue was the Lady of the Lake...she gave Excalibur to Merlin..." Harry paused to get a breath of air and was interrupted by Savana.

"What did you do? Swallow a copy of _'The Myths of Merlin'_ ?!" She asked Harry with a laugh.

"Oh, too much huh? Sorry, I get so excited about this topic." Harry was somewhat chagrinned.

"Actually, neither one of us knows much about Merlin. I, for one," as he said this, Alex looked pointedly at Savana, "appreciate hearing anything you would like to contribute. On that note, let's get back to our digging."

...`~*~`...

That night Savana holed-up again with Aunt Christina's journals. She began to wonder why Aunt Christina and Professor Snape broke-up. The journal entries made it clear that they had been crazy about each other.

_"Well, there's no accounting for taste. Obviously Snape wasn't as much of a jerk then, as he is now."_ Savana thought and went back to her reading.

The general tone of the diaries began to darken in the sixth one. Savana found out what happened to the romance in the seventh journal.

_"...Severus is developing more interest in the dark arts than I am _

comfortable with...Severus wants to join the Death Eaters and follow

Lord Voldemort when he graduates this spring. He thinks Professor

Dumbledore, and those who are allied with him, are weak fools...

I gave Severus his ring back today and told him I don't want anything

to do with him...I gave him an ultimatum. I told him that he could

marry me, or follow Voldemort. He chose Voldemort and I am 

beside myself with grief..."

"How sad for both of them!" Savana thought. _"No wonder Snape is so bitter!"_

Savana sighed and put the book aside. She laid down to sleep, but kept thinking about her aunt and Professor Snape. Just before she drifted off to sleep, Savana reminded herself to tell Alex and Harry about what she had read tonight. She no longer thought Aunt Christina's romance with Professor Snape was a laughing matter and she wished she had never found, or read, the journals.

...`~*~`...

Draco Malfoy was sitting in his bedroom, desperately trying to figure out a way of getting out of the New Year's Eve party. The party wasn't the problem, Pansy Parkinson was. She would be at the New Year's Eve party and if that party was anything like the Christmas party, Draco wanted none of it! 

Pansy had spent the entire time hanging on Draco, flirting with him, and behaving as though he was her exclusive property. He hadn't even been Pansy's date for the evening, nor had he invited her to the party. That had been his mother's doing. Now his mother thought it would be 'sweet' if Draco invited Pansy to the New Year's Eve party.

Draco decided he would have to bolster his courage and tell his parents that he wasn't interested in bringing any date to the party, much less Pansy.

Lucius had been in a far better mood since Draco had inadvertantly told his father about the Walker family. Draco decided it was time to cash in on some of the goodwill he had bought his father's way. (And, by extension, his mother's.)

Draco walked downstairs to the sitting room where he had last seen his parents. He was about to knock on the door, which was slightly ajar, when he realised that his parents were deep in conversation and would not look kindly upon his interrupting them. As Draco was considering when and where to re-approach his parents, he evesdropped, unashamedly, upon their conversation.

_"...he will go after both the staff and the family again, but he said he'll wait and make sure his plan is perfect..something about a rat in a maze...frankly, I think he was a little off his nut...Raven's reaction to the news was classic! He was absolutely furious that I had usurped his status..."_

Draco walked quietly back to his room and turned over what his father had been saying in his mind.

_"I wish I'd gotten there earlier, so I knew exactly what he was talking about."_ Draco thought. 

He knew, however, that asking his father or mother to clairify what had been said would be a suicidal move. Draco decided he would need to figure out the first part of the conversation on his own. He had no problem understanding the second portion, however. Because of him, Voldemort now knew about Savana and her family. She was in danger and he needed to warn her, somehow. 

...`~*~`...

During the next few days, the three-some spent nearly every waking hour holed-up in the attic. They had discovered many useless things. They also found several rather interesting items of family history. However, the information from, and about, Merlin continued to elude them.

Savana told Harry and Alex about what she had read in Aunt Christina's journal's. They agreed that the incident probably explained, at least in part, Professor Snape's current bitter personality.

Alex was currently searching far back under the attic eves. He sneezed from all the dust he had stirred up, then pulled an ancient strong-box forward into a more open area. (Specifically, an area large enough for Alex to stand upright in and move about comfortably.) 

Alex began to work at the box's latches and lock, which stubbornly refused to open. He spent a considerable amount of time, as well as every spell and technique he could think of, trying to open the box. Alex finally sat back on his heels and grunted in frusteration.

"What's the problem?" Savana teased her older brother. "Can't you open that stubborn, old box?" She left the trunk she had been exploring and walked over to Alex and the mysterious, metal box which refused to give up its secrets.

"I've tried everything I could think of and the bugger refuses to open!" Alex sighed. 

He wiped a hand across his dirty, sweaty face. The motion only left more dirt on his face and Savana began to laugh at the picture Alex presented. It only served to increase his frusteration.

"Come here Orion, let's go and get some tea. Maybe something will come to me if I take a break." Alex suggested.

Orion came scampering back to Alex from the depths of the attic. He ran up onto Alex's shoulder and began to wash and groom himself.

"Aren't you afraid that Orion will get lost, or hurt, running loose around here?" Harry asked as he approached the others.

"Naw, for one thing, rats are the ultimate survivers. Second, they almost always find their way back home; and third, Orion actually found and adopted me, not the other way around." Alex replied.

Orion obviously knew he was the topic of their conversation, because he paused with his grooming and stared quizically at them.

Harry ran his hand over the surface of the box. "This is a very unusual box." He said as he studied the large gold and silver box. 

The box was about the size of a footlocker. Harry began to rub at a small, tarnished plaque on the side of the box.

"Can either of you read what's engraved here? I can't make it out." He continued.

Savana and Alex leaned over to examine the plaque more closely. Alex was a bit shocked when Orion chose that moment to go streaking down his arm, toward the box, like his tail was on fire.

Orion stuck both of his front paws into the lock opening and dug at it. Then he stuck his nose into it and began working at it with his teeth as well.

"What's with you, Orion? Did something tasty get stuck in there?" Alex asked. He was puzzled at his pet's behavior.

Orion continued his digging and made a chuffing noise. His spots began to glow.

"Whatever Orion's doing, he must be happy about it." Harry commented. "Look at how his spots are glowing."

"Hey! I can read the plaque! It says Merlin!" Savana announced and did a little happy dance. "We've hit the mother load!"

"Only if someone manages to figure out how to open the blasted thing!" Alex said and smacked the top of the box with an open palm.

At that moment, Orion pulled away from the lock. He held something gold in his teeth, and he dashed off into the attic's dark recesses with it.

"Hey Orion, come back here with that!" Alex called with frusteration.

A moment later, Orion's beady, ruby eyes peered at them from the darkness under the eves. He gave a rather loud squeak and made a chattering noise with his teeth. Then he simply sat and watched them for a moment. When the humans didn't move, Orion made another noise and headed back toward Alex, minus the object he had removed from the lock.

"Am I nuts, or did that rat just sigh?!" Savana asked with a laugh.

Orion glared at them and scrambled into Alex's open pocket.

"Orion, where is the..."Alex started to ask, but was interrupted by a shout from Harry.

"Look! The box is unlocked!" He cried with excitement. "Orion must have broken a seal!"

"Good work, buddy! Sorry I yelled at you." Alex said to his pet.

Orion made an exasperated chuffing sound and rolled up into a ball. He was clearly indicating to Alex that this interview was over.

"Oops!" Alex muttered as he turned his attention toward the box. 

Harry and Savana were already removing items and examining them. They found several books, scrolls and, interestingly, some talismans.

"I wonder how these are used?" Savana mused while examining two of the talismans. "It can probably be found in one of those books or scrolls." She continued as she set the talismans down, picked up one of the books and opened it. "Oh look, pictures and everything!" Savana showed the book to Alex.

"Yeah, but they aren't going to do us much good until we figure out what language they're written in." Alex sighed after examining the writing. "This looks like Celtic, but I can't be sure..."

"I've found something about the Staff of Time in this scroll...at least I think that's what it's about...I recognise the illustration, but not the writing." Harry announced and he showed the scroll to the others.

"That's the Staff, alright, but the writing looks like the writing in the book Savana's holding. We're going to need to do some interpreting and we'll need to take all of this back to my room with us. At least for the time being." Alex said as he began to re-pack the box.

"Wait a minute! That thing weighs a ton and it isn't exactly run of the mill! Why can't we just leave it up here and go through everything up here?" Savana complained.

"Number 1: Because now that we've found it and opened it, I don't want anything to happen to it. Number 2: We're running out of time. We go back to Hogwart's in two days and I would prefer not to bring the whole box with us, if we can avoid it. Number 3: Mom's been complaining about the amount of time we're spending holed-up indoors. She doesn't think it's healthy and she will probably force the issue, soon. Number 4: This way we can look at some of this stuff at night and, hopefully, make sense of some of it." Alex counted off his reasons on his fingers as he said them.

"Numbers 5, 6, and 7: I'M FAMISHED!!!" Harry added and Savana made a face at him.

"Fine! You win!" She snapped at them. 

Savana finished putting the artifacts back into the box and carefully shut the lid, so the locking mechanism wouldn't re-engage.

"Harry and I'll move the box. You need to be the pointman...make sure no one sees us." Alex instructed his sister.

Savana briefly thought about arguing with him, but discarded the idea after looking at Harry and Alex. They resembled a pair of dirt devils and, she suspected, she didn't look much better.

They carefully made their way back to Alex's suite and deposited the box in a hidden corner of the closet, where it blended in with the other storage items. Then they went their separate ways to wash-up and change before they went down to dinner.

...`~*~`...

Alex's words proved to be prophetic by the end of breakfast the next morning. Fiona insisted that the 'kids' join the adults for their daily constitutional.

Savana, Alex and Harry gave each other furtive, meaningful looks.

"...we've hardly seen any of you for the past several days and soon you'll be going back to school." Fiona told them with a hint of rebuke in her tone.

Alex and Savana sighed and agreed to go along on their walk after breakfast. 

"Umm...as long as we're already going out...would you please show us the labyrinth? I'd very much like to see it." Harry ventured uncertainly.

"Certainly! The labyrinth is nearby and easy to get to. It's much more accessible in the warmer months, but even at this time of year, it is something to see!" Aunt Christina volunteered.

They all went to don their outerware and regrouped outside of a backdoor. Once there, they made their way towards the labyrinth.

Harry was suprised by their directional heading. Their destination appeared to be the ruins, but Christina lead them past most of the ruins with barely a glance at them.

They continued walking behind the ruins and came upon two stone monuments which marked the entrance to the labyrinth. It appeared to cover at least a square kilometer of the estate grounds. Harry could understand, after seeing it, how one could become hopelessly lost in the maze.

Harry, Savana and Alex approached the closest of the monuments marking the entrance. They saw several symbols and words engraved upon its surfaces. Unfortunately, the writings appeared to be similar to those which they had found on the documents in Merlin's box.

Harry was dusting the snow from one of the surfaces when he suddenly stopped with a gasp. He quickly looked around for the adults, who were talking and looking at something about 10 meters away. Then he quietly called to Alex and Savana.

"Come here you two. Look at this!"

"It looks just like the drawing of the Staff of Time that you found on the scroll yesterday!" Savana breathed with excitement. "I wonder if it says the same thing as the scroll?"

"I can think of one way to find out, but we need to ditch the adults as soon as possible." Alex told the others. "Then we'll get the scroll and come back out here. Agreed?"

"Ya-vole mein heir! Make it so!" Savana responded sarcastically with a smile and a mocking salute to her older brother.

"Give me a break!" Alex sighed as he rolled his eyes.

They re-joined the adults and persueded them to return to the mannor.

Once they had reached the house, they managed to convince the adults to engage in their own pursuites. Then Alex retrieved the scroll from his room and they hastened back to the monument with it.

When they had returned to the monument, they quickly removed the rest of the snow, then compared the scroll to the engravings in the stone. They were identical!

"I wonder if the other engravings here match any of the other scrolls, or books, we've found?" Harry voiced his thoughts outloud.

"I'll make copies of them and we can compare them when we get back to the house." Alex suggested and began to create the necessary copies.

While Alex did that, Harry and Savana began to examine the other monument. Curiously, most of that monument's surfaces were unmarked. They found a few symbols, but nothing else until Harry and Savana knocked a slab of snow and ice from the last unexplored surface.

"Yes!" Savana shouted. "Alex, we've found something. Come over here!"

"Just a second. I'm almost finished here." Alex called back.

Harry and Savana busied themselves dusting the last remaining bits of snow from the engraving while they waited.

"Alex!!" Savana shouted impatiently.

"Lower your voice, please. You almost broke my eardrum!" Alex spoke from beside her.

"Sorry." Savana apologised in a more conversational tone of voice. "Look at this! It's the same Staff of Time symbol that we found on the other momument and the scroll!! But we can read the writing on this one. It's in English!"

Alex looked at the engraving and decided his sister was correct.

Harry began reading the writing outloud. It said:

"In the month of the blue moon, 

Bathed in Orion's bright glow;

Into the labyrinth,

You are now able to go.

The journey, quite trecherous,

For those who would dare

To solve the riddles of the labyrinth,

The Staff, you will find there.

Encased in a sarcophagas, 

Which looks crystal clear, 

Touch it not!

If life, you hold dear.

For only my kin, 

And that of Morgain LeFey,2

May from its tomb take it,

Or their life energy, they pay.

When He had finished reading, they looked at each other with a bit of puzzlement.

"It's obviously about finding the Staff of Time, but it's rather obscure. What do you suppose it really means?" Harry mused outloud.

"Let's discuss the meaning once we're indoors, warm and fed!" Savana suggested while bouncing up and down to warm herself up.

"I second that motion!" Harry added through chattering teeth.

"I want to get a copy of this and the other symbols. Then I'll join you in the dinning room." Alex told the other two as they began to walk back to the house.

They ate lunch and excused themselves as quickly as they possibly could afterward.

Fiona didn't give them any trouble about it since they had gone walking together that morning and would the next day. She did remind them of the New Year's Eve party that night, however.

"Nuts! I'd forgotten about that party!" Alex muttered as they closed the door to his room and pulled out everything they wanted to go over.

Harry was holding a copy of the poem, and re-reading it, when he suddenly realised the meaning of portions of it. He blanched and felt sick to his stomach as the full weight of the truth hit him.

"Harry, what's the matter with you?! You look like you've just eaten some of mom's cooking!" Savana said with concern.

Harry gulped and tried to form some saliva in his dry mouth so that he could speak. After a moment he gave up and got a drink of water. When he returned, he knew what he must tell them.

"Ah...um...there are a couple of things I haven't told you about." He choked out hoarsely.

Harry told the others about the conversation he had overheard on Christmas night and about his vision from the same night.

"...at least now I know why the Staff was killing me and how it was doing so." Harry concluded weakly.

"The Staff of Time still exists after all of these years...why am I NOT suprised that the adults decided not to tell us?" Savana hissed. She was tired of being treated like an infant by her parents.

"They were just trying to protect you." Harry told her quietly. He rather wished someone in his family would care that much for him. "It must be hidden here, somewhere, probably in the labyrinth. If I'm putting everything we've discovered so far, together correctly."

"Voldemort is a descendant of Morgain LeFey...he can get the Staff of Time and use it...no wonder he killed our family...and we're almost out of time..we have to leave soon..." Alex muttered with a sinking feeling.

"The Staff has been safely hidden and protected here for hundreds of years." Harry reminded them.

"Hopefully, it will stay that way, at least until we know more about it, and everything surrounding it." Savana said softly.

The three sat in heavy silence for a short time. 

Then Alex spoke up, "I have some news too. It's not as earth shattering as Harry's was, but it may prove to be helpful. I realised when I was finishing the copies, that the symbols and writing on the second monument, are in the same locations as the symbols and writings are on the first monument we looked at. There are two differences: #1-The entire second monument was built and engraved at a much later date than the first one was. #2-The writing was in English on the second monument." Alex told Savana and Harry with excitement.

Savana gave Alex a look that basically said,_ "...and I'm supposed to care because...?"_

"I think, once we really look at this stuff, we'll find that the second monument contains a translation of what is written on the first one." Alex supplied.

"I wish Hermione was here right now. She'd probably be able to translate some of this stuff, or at least have an idea as to where we should begin." Harry sighed.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and the next day going through as many of the writings on the monuments, and the contents of the box, as possible. They were now very aware how little time they had left here and how vital the information they found could be.

They made two more discoveries during those searches. The lesser finding was that many of the symbols on the monuments were of the talismans in the box. (Though they still had no idea how to use them.) The other finding was that the writings on the first monument were exact copies of the scrolls they had discovered in Merlin's box.

The group decided the contents of the box were far too valuable to be left at the Walker estate unprotected. They would bring the contents, and Alex's copies, with them to Hogwarts. They had never found the seal Orion had run off with, and they had alot more work to do before they could even hope to understand most of what they had found.

They would leave the box itself at the Walker estate. It was too unique for them to bring it with them. There was too great a possibility of questions about the box if anyone saw it.

And so it came to pass that Alex, Harry and Savana returned to Hogwarts carrying far more than they had left with.

1. Nimue-also referred to as: Niniane and Vivien in many of the Merlin myths, poems, etc. A 

commonly recurring theme is that Merlin fell in love with her in his old age.

2. Morgain LeFey-also referred to as: Morgana LeFey or Morgan in many of the King Arthur and 

Merlin legends, poems, etc. 

__


	18. Nowhere to Hide

(A/N: Ok, as everyone knows by now, Harry Potter and co., do not belong to me. Now, I'm going to make sure my life insurance is payed up. I don't care what people say, this is a very risky buisness! ^^)

****

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 18

Nowhere to Hide

As soon as they got back to Hogwarts, Savana and Harry found Hermione and Ron. They all went down to Hagrid's hut, so they could include Alex in their discussion. Once the group had reached the hut, they told the others about almost everything they had discovered over the Christmas holiday. (They chose not to mention Aunt Christina's journals, or their contents.) Then they gave the copies of the poem, and what they suspected was its translation, to Hermione.

"Most of the scrolls, books, etc., are written in this language. I think it might be Celtic." Alex said, with a touch of pride, as he handed the documents to Hermione. "We figured that if anyone could translate this stuff, it would be you."

Hermione blushed with pleasure at Alex's compliment.

"We thought a good place to begin would be with this poem. We think the English version is a later day translation of Merlin's version, but we're not sure. If you could translate it, we'd know for sure. Plus, it could serve as something of a Rosetta Stone for the other documents." Alex continued to explain. He was completely oblivious to Hermione's reaction to him.

"Well,...ahhh...for one thing, this is written in Gaelic, not Celtic." Hermione said with some discomfort. She didn't want Alex to loose face, so she added, "They are similar. It's easy to confuse them if you haven't studied them as I have."

_"If any of the rest of us had made the mistake of confusing those languages," _Ron thought darkly, _"Hermione wouldn't have thought twice about telling us just how illiterate we are."_

Ron caught Savana's eye and made a motion indicating that Hermione was crazy. Hermione and Alex didn't see it because Ron was behind them. Savana smirked at Ron in return.

They decided to leave the other copies, books, scrolls, and talismans in Alex's keeping until Hermione was finished with her first task. Then they went back up to the dormitories to unpack.

...`~*~`...

The next morning, Savana sat and stared, bleary-eyed, into the sludge which passed for coffee. She hadn't really slept the night before. When she was trying to fall asleep, she kept worrying about her family and not being able to use the Staff of Time once they had found it. Once Savana had actually managed to fall asleep, she had terrible nightmares. The nightmares had been terrifying, but she hadn't been able to hold onto the images once she had awakened.

Savana's stomach felt queasy and her head ached. Both were common side effects of fatigue, for Savana. The smell of the 'coffee' was making things worse. She pushed the cup away, then picked up a piece of toast to nibble on instead. She considered going back to bed and just skipping her morning classes. Savana had to admit, the idea of not seeing Professor Snape was an appealing one. She was still uncomfortable with what she had learned reading Aunt Christina's diaries. Savana was unsure of how she would react to Professor Snape in light of her new knowlege of him.

"Wakey, wakey, Savana. It's almost time for our 'favorite' class." Ron stage-whispered into Savana's ear.

Savana groaned and dropped her head into her arms. "Bite-me!" She mumbled.

"I've got just the thing to get your blood moving, a lovely piece of kidney pie! Let's try a bite, hmmm?" Ron spoke in a syrupy sweet, wheedling tone, like a mother trying to get a reluctant child to take its medicine.

Savana partially lifted her head and gave Ron a withering look. "Keep it up and you'll be wearing a vomit pie!" She threatened him.

"One of these days, Savana is going to get you for this, Ron." Hermione warned him as she gathered her books up and prepared to leave. "Come on Savana, we can't afford to be late." She prompted.

"I don't understand why I can't miss just one day of class. It's not a though Professor Snape looks forward to seeing our smiling, little faces." Savana grumbled. "Ron, one of these days, I'm going to make sure you have nothing to eat except tripe,1 sweetbreads,2 and hagus.3" She added.

Ron snorted in response and gathered his things. He opened his mouth to say something appropriately pithy to Savana, but Harry stopped him with a warning look.

"My, aren't we being Sir Galahad?!" Ron hissed at Harry instead. Then, he bowed gallantly, "Me ladies, I bid you adieu!" He said sarcastically. Then he left.

Hermione sighed, gave Harry and Savana an exasperated look, then followed Ron.

Harry looked at Savana. He was a bit concerned about his friend and told her as much. "I've never seen you act like this, or heard you say such things. What is the matter with you?!"

"I just don't feel like..." Savana began to respond.

"Don't lie to me. I know more than the others and I'm concerned about my friend." Harry interrupted her.

Savana sighed and told Harry why she hadn't been able to sleep the night before and how uncomfortable she was with the idea of seeing Professor Snape. "...what if I loose my temper, or slip-up and say something? We didn't even tell Hermione and Ron about those journals." She finished lamely.

"First of all, we're leaving for class and finishing this conversation while we walk there. We can't avoid Professor Snape forever and I don't want to even consider what he will do to us once we do see him if we were to skip class today." Harry told Savana in a no-nonesense tone. "Second; you will NOT loose your temper, because you've promised Professor Dumbledore that you wouldn't. And you're going to promise me that you won't 'slip-up', since that would embarress your aunt, whom we both think very highly of. Third; worrying about you-know-who, and you-know-what..." Harry suddenly began to speak in a quieter tone of voice as a group of students passed by them. "...isn't going to help anything. It could be disasterous, however, if you were to end up in the hospital wing due to exhaustion."

"Somehow, I can't see trying to explain the cause of my 'exhaustion' to Madam Pomfrey." Savana laughed in agreement.

The pair of them entered the potions classroom and slipped into some expty seats next to Ron and Hermione.

"Nothing like waiting until the last minute before you deigned to grace us with your presence." Ron hissed at them. "You're just lucky Professor Snape's late for class as well!"

Their odious task master arrived then, as though on cue, and stopped Ron from saying anything further with a venomous look. Ron sank further into his chair and Professor Snape began to explain the potion which the class was about to make. As he did so, Savana fought a loosing battle to keep her eyes open.

"We are not going to be making a sleeping potion today, Ms. Walker. Therefore, I would suggest that you wake-up and pay attention. NOW!" Professor Snape spoke in intense, velvet tones. "Oh, and by the way, that will be a 5 point deduction from Gryffindor House." 

Savana blushed and sat up as Professor Snape continued with his lecture. 

"This potion is an antidote for the poison found in the claws of a drake. If the claws of a drake break your skin, the venom introduced into your system will kill you within the next 12 hours, unless you drink this potion...This potion takes two weeks to make and is extremely complicated..."

"Professor Snape, if drake poison kills you within 12 hours, but the potion takes two weeks to make, isn't this whole exercise rather pointless?" Pansy Parkinson asked primly.

Hermione silently sighed with exasperation and rolled her eyes. Pansy was, undoubtedly, trying to sound profound, but her question was insipid. Everyone knew drake anti-toxin was kept available in areas where drakes were found.

Professor Snape said as much in his response to Pansy before he continued with his lecture.

"...you must be carefull not to get the potion on your skin during the first few days of brewing..." Professor Snape focused unpleasantly on Neville as he said this, and Neville shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "...the raw potion is quite caustic and tends to eat through any organic matter; such as skin, bone, muscle, etc." Professor Snape smiled unpleasantly at the class' cringing reaction to this graphic information.

Once he had completed his lecture, Professor Snape announced that the students would all be paired with new lab partners. "...To help prevent accidents, each one of you from Slytherin House will be paired with a student from Gryffindor House."

Then Professor Snape went on to announce the new lab pairings. Once he had completed that task, he had the class go over the procedures they would be using to make the potion, as well as the equipment and materials they would need. 

Soon, class was over and they were all heading for their next class.

"I can't believe what a git Snape is!" Ron muttered. "I'm going to pair all of you incompetent Gryffindor people with the brilliant students from Slytherin, so you don't blow yourselves up! Of course, you people wouldn't be much of a loss, but I wouldn't want my little darlings singed!" Ron mimicked sarcastically.

"I can't believe Professor Snape paired you with Malfoy, Savana!" Harry said shaking his head.

"That's better than the partner I recieved, Pansy Parkinson!" Hermione sighed. "She may soon discover that she's suffering from a debilitating illness which keeps her out of potions class until we're assigned new partners. I'll be happy to arrange it as soon as possible!"

Their next class was _The History of Magic_. Savana had already been having an extremely difficult time paying attention and staying awake in a more stimulating class. The effort to remain awake in this particular class could prove to be overwhelming and that thought scared Savana.

The group entered the classroom and took their seats. Savana begged Ron to keep her awake during the class, but her strategy proved to be ineffective. Ron fell asleep at the same time as Savana did. 

Professor Binns was lecturing on magic in the ancient Muggle world. It was not an attention grabbing topic at first blush, so Savana didn't feel terribly guilty about nodding off. She was awakened by a sharp elbow to the ribs, however, a short time later.

"Ow! What the..." She hissed at Hermione, who had committed the foul.

"Shhh! Listen to what Professor Binns is talking about." Hermione whispered urgently.

In the meantime, Harry was trying to awaken Ron. He was sound asleep with his head lolled to one side and a small line of drool running from the corner of his mouth.

"Five more minutes, mum." Ron murmured as he shifted his weight and began to snore softly.

Harry sighed and decided against any further attempts to awaken Ron.

"I'll bet you one galleon that Ron falls to the left and hits the dirt!" Savana whispered to Hermione.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Professor Bins, as did Savana and Harry.

"...a few places of magic still exist in the Muggle world, as well as in ours. One such place is Stonehenge...Stonehenge is believed, even in the Muggle world, to have been constructed by Merlin. He brought the bluestones over from Ireland with magic and oversaw their placement 4...the location and placement of those particular stones greatly enhances the power of any magic preformed there...such places are called 'Circles of Magic'...Stonehenge is one of the places where magic is still active..." Professor Binns droned on.

_"So, Stonehenge was created by Merlin and is a place of active, amplified magic..."_ Savana thought, _"...no wonder the family estate is nearby."_

Professor Binns had moved on to places of active magic which were located only in the wizarding world.

"...another such place is the Phantom Forest. Queen Mab5 created it to trap Merlin and Nimue there for eternity..."

The professor's lecture was interrupted by a clatter and a loud thump as Ron fell to the floor.

"Wha' happened?" Ron asked sleepily.

"I just won a galleon, that's what." Savana said with a smile. 

...`~*~`...

Savana skipped lunch and took a nap instead. Hermione had a difficult time waking her up, and getting Savana to Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class, on time. Once they had gotten to the classroom and sat down, Savana laid her head down on the desk in front of her. She felt sick and exhausted.

"Savana, are you O.K.? You don't look very well." Harry commented in a concerned tone of voice.

"Harry is quite correct, Savana. You appear to be rather ill." Professor McGonagall's crisp voice said from beside them. "I think you should go to see Madam Pomfrey, immediately."

"I'm just a little tired." Savana whined.

"Be that as it may, I don't want the rest of us catching your illness simply because you think you're 'just a little tired.' Now, off with you. Hermione will accompany you." Professor McGonagall retorted.

Savana sighed and left for the hospital wing along with Hermione. She was glad Professor McGonagall had told Hermione to assist her. Savana had to admit, she felt woozy and that was not a typical result of exhaustion.

Madam Pomfrey diagnosed Savana as suffering from poisoning and told her that she would be staying for awhile. Then she ordered Savana to bed, wrote a note and asked Hermione to deliver it to Professor McGonagall immediately.

Hermione noticed the message wasn't sealed, so she gave into temptation and read the note while she was on the way back to class with it. The note said:

_Minerva, Savana Walker is suffering from a form of poisoning. I have_

yet to determine the cause and will require some assistance to do so.

Please, come to see me immediately and bring Albus with you. 

Hermione re-folded the paper, ran back to class, and handed the note to Professor McGonagall. Then, Hermione returned to her seat while Professor McGonagall read the note.

"My presence is required elsewhere, therefore, class is dismissed."Professor McGonagall announced. After which she quickly left for the hospital wing.

"Hermione, what just happened here?" Harry asked in suprise.

"I'll tell you as soon as we're out of here." Hermione said with a meaningful look at the other students in the room.

"O.K., spill it." Ron demanded as soon as they were alone in the courtyard.

They didn't see Draco, who had followed them and was hiding behind a pillar, listening to them.

"Madam Pomfrey said Savana was poisoned. The note requested Professor McGonagall to get Professor Dumbledore and bring him to the hospital wing with her. Unfortunately, that's all it said and I don't know anything more." Hermione told them in a rush.

Draco's stomach twisted with anxiety.

"I'll wager anything that Malfoy slipped Savana something during potions class." Ron declaired angerly.

Draco's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fists. _"How dare that slug-spitting, low-life, even suggest such a thing!"_ He thought, but he resisted the impulse to confront Ron. It would not be to Draco's advantage to reveal himself just now.

"That can't be the case." Harry explained. "Savana was already feeling ill at breakfast this morning." 

They began to walk away from Draco. The last thing he heard any of them say was that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't allow any of them to see Savana.

Draco leaned back against the pillar and tried to decide what to do about Savana. He suspected the Death Eaters had poisoned Savana after recieving the information he had given to his father over Christmas. They were moving much more quickly than he had expected. Draco thought again about the need to warn Savana about Lord Voldemort and that there was no place where she could hide.

Draco smiled and relaxed as an idea took root in his mind. He decided he would send Savana a get well bouquet and he would bury a note in it, warning her about Lord Voldemort. He ran back to Slytherin House, so he could put his plan into action.

...`~*~`...

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall hurried into the hospital wing, where they were met by a concerned Madam Pomfrey. 

"I haven't been able to determine the source of the poison yet, but I believe I have discovered the type. It is an extremely potent and long lasting sleeping potion. I have sent for Professor Snape. He should be able to help me make a potion which will counteract the effects." Madam Pomfrey told them. 

"I will send for Savana's brother, Alex, immediately." Professor Dumbledore told her. "Perhaps he will be able to shed some light on the source, especially since it is possible that Savana came into contact with the potion while she was on holiday. Is it possible to speak with Savana?"

"She's been drifting in and out of consciousness." Madam Pomfrey explained to them. "But, we could certainly try. Please, follow me."

Their attempts to communicate with Savana came to naught. Her only response was a moan and a request for a good cup of coffee.

"She must be delerious!" Commented Professor McGonagall.

Professor Dumbledore simply chuckled. He was well aware of Savana's continued quest for a decent cup of coffee since her arrival at Hogwarts. _"No one can say she isn't determined." _He thought.

Alex came through the door carring a large bouquet of flowers. "I found these outside the door with a note which said, 'Get Well, Savana.' They must be from Neville, or someone else who knows her fairly well." He continued. "Stargazer lilies and blue delphinium are her favorite flowers. I don't see any signature on the note, though."

Alex set the vase of flowers on Savana's bedside table and propped the note up against the vase. Then he saw the corner of a paper buried in the bouquet. Alex carefully fished the paper out. 

"Well, well, what have we here? The identity of our secret admirer is about to be revealed." Alex said with a chuckle as he unfolded the note. 

"Perhaps you should leave your sister's mail for her to read." Professor McGonagall suggested with a sniff.

Her comment, however, did not deter Alex. "Nah, if her admirer wanted to remain anonymous, he'd have sealed..." Alex broke off in mid-comment and turned white as he quickly re-read the note, which said:

__

Savana, Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters know about you. They know 

your family is alive and living in England. I am taking an enormous risk in

divulging this information to you, so please, do not ignore this warning. It

is not a prank!

Silence reigned among them for a few seconds, except for a quiet scuffling sound near the door. 

Professor Dumbledore looked toward the sound and said, "You may remove the cloak now, Harry."

Two pair of feet seemed to appear from thin air. Harry and Hermione's flushed faces and sheepish grins were quickly revealed afterward. Harry began to fold the invisibility cloak and cleared his throat before attempting to explain Hermione's, and his, presence in the room.

"Ah-h-h, we just wanted to check on Savana..."

They were saved from further explainations by the arrival of Professor Snape.

_"I never thought I'd be happy to see him." _Harry thought wryly.

Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey nodded to the other adults in greeting. Then they walked over to Savana and proceeded to examine her while quietly talking to each other. After a brief period of time, Professor Snape motioned Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall over to Savana's bedside next to them. Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey began talking to them quietly. Snatches of what was being said by them, could be overheard by Alex, Harry and Hermione.

"...faint odor of orange blossoms and sandlewood...blue and yellow discoloration on the palms...pink conjunctiva...quite unusual...read about it, I haven't ever seen it...we'll get busy making the antidote...time is of the essence...must discover where she came into contact with it..."

Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey left the room, presumably to begin work on the antidote, and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall approached Alex, Harry and Hermione.

"It would appear there is much for us to discuss." Professor Dumbledore said to all three of them. "However, let us begin with where Savana found the Stone of Morpheous."

Alex's only reaction was one of stunned silence.

Harry and Hermione silently chuckled to themselves. They were well aquainted with Professer Dumbledore's seeming omnipotence and could sympathise with Alex's current predicament. Neither of them were naive enough to volunteer the requested information, however, so they waited for Alex's response in silence.

"Um-m-m, the truth is...I have no idea what the Stone of Morpheous is..." Alex stammered.

"It is a very powerful talisman possessed by Merlin..." Professor Dumbledore began to explain when Alex interupted in confusion.

"I thought talismans were charms which ward off evil. If that's what caused Savana's problems, it's no charm."

"Had you allowed me to complete my explaination, I would have told you that the Stone of Morpheous causes any who touch it to fall into a coma. Merlin used it as the ultimate defense against the Dark Arts." Professor Dumbledore completed his explaination.

"We don't know why Savana wasn't affected more rapidly, or mor severely, by it...perhaps because she's related to Merlin. Albeit, many generations removed." Professor McGonagall said pensively.

"How do you know Savana's problem is even caused by this...'talisman'?! It could be caused by alot of other things." Alex demanded.

"No. The symptoms and the effects of the Stone of Morpheous are unique." Professor Dumbledore admitted while shaking his head. "Which brings us back to my original question; where did she find it?"

"Tell them, Alex." Harry urged quietly. "We can trust them and they may be able to help us."

Alex sighed with frusteration, then told them about the trunk in the attic and the monuments. "Savana was the only one who touched any of the talismans. That's why neither Harry, nor I, were affected, but we have no idea which one is the Stone of Morpheous...or if any of the others are dangerous...we can't read any of the writing..." He trailed off.

Harry was busy thanking Lady Luck that he had not touched the talismans. He had lost track of Alex's narrative, so he was a bit suprised when Hermione added;

"Actually, we do understand a few things. I was able to verify the poem's translation." She said with a blush. "Though the translation wasn't word for word, and that made it a bit difficult to compare."

"You're loosing me here." Alex said by way of prompting Hermione to explain her thinking more clearly.

"Oh, well, the poem in the translation begins with; _"In the month of the blue moon." _A blue moon is the second new moon occuring in a one month period. It is relatively rare, and can only occur if you're using the Julian calender..." Hermione noticed that Alex looked completely clueless, so she modified her approach. "...Merlin wouldn't have used a Julian calender, it's too modern. He would have used a Lunar calender, one based on the phases of the moon, so there wouldn't be any such thing as a blue moon..." Hermione stopped and sighed with frusteration. Now, even Harry's eyes were glazed over with confusion.

"So, you're saying that whoever did the translation was able to account for this difference?" Professor McGonagall said.

"Yes, I guess that's another way of putting it." Hermione huffed a little. "And the poem tells us the Staff of Time still exists and that it is protected." Hermione finished lamely.

"The Staff of Time's existance is well known in some circles." Professor Dumbledore assured them. "That is the reason your Aunt Christina remained on the family estate, rather than flee to the United States with the rest of your family. Someone needed to guard access to the Staff of Time."

"But, Merlin protected it." The words rushed out of Harry's mouth before he realised it.

"It is probable Merlin foresaw specific dangers associated with the Staff of Time in the future, which the presence of a descendant would prevent." Professor McGonagall told the group.

"Merlin decreed that a descendant must always be living on the estate. It is one of the many protections he provided for the Staff of Time and the reason Lord Voldemort tried to kill your family." Professor Dumbledore explained patiently.

"If Merlin foresaw all of this, why didn't he simply destroy the staff, or change the future?" Harry asked.

"You have actually asked two separate questions, Harry." Professor McGonagall responded. "I will address the first question. You are already aware that mage staffs harness enormous amounts of power and energy..." The others nodded to indicate that they already understood this. "...The destruction of any mage staff causes a catastrophic release of those energies and powers. The destruction of the Staff of Time would do all of that, and destroy the fabric of time, as well."

Professor Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "Well said, professor. I am able to answer the second part of your question. Merlin used the Staff of Time only to view the future and the past, much as Muggles watch movies. If the staff is, or was, actually used to travel in time, it would take most of the user's life energy to do so."

"That seems pretty harsh." Alex commented. "Merlin created it, why would he make it do that?"

"Because, he wanted to prevent anyone who used the Staff of Time from shaping the future to meet their own needs and desires!" Hermione murmured. "Think about it...without some sort of a deterant, the staff could be used to view the future, then travel to the past and change what will come...it would cause complete chaos!"

"While your observation is certainly true, Hermione, there is something more to be considered..." Professor Dumbledore added. "...Theoretically, it would take an enormous amount of energy to open a portal into time. The staff takes that energy from the most convient source, the user, in order to accomplish that task. Some legends indicate there are ways to circumvent this, but they have perils of their own."

"Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey will return soon, and as fascinating as this discussion is, we must leave it for another time. We have another important issue to discuss before their return, the warning note." Professor McGonagall reminded the group.

Yes, the very existance of that note is almost as disturbing as its content." Professor Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully as he said this. "Someone, other than your family and Lord Voldemort, is at least partially aware of what is occuring and we have no indication as to who that person is."

"And, while you are all protected as long as you remain at Hogwarts, or on its grounds, your aunt and parents are not. They are clearly in danger and must be warned..." Professor McGonagall broke off as Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey entered the room carrying an urn and a cup containing a smoking, foul smelling potion.

"The antidote is ready to be administered," Madam Pomfrey announced as she advanced toward Savana's bedside, along with an unusually silent Professor Snape. "Have you determined the origion of the poison yet?"

The small group made eye contact with each other and Professor Dumbledore silently cautioned them to reveal nothing of their previous discussions. Then he said, "We have discovered that Savana came into contact with the poison while she was on holiday and there is no threat to anyone here, at Hogwarts. That is all." Then he turned to Harry and Hermione. He dismissed them by saying, "I believe it is time for you to return to Gryffindor House with Professor McGonagall."

They nodded and took their leave. There was no discussion between them as they walked back to the dormitory, as they were all occupied by their own thoughts. Those thoughts were dominated by impending feelings of doom.

1. Tripe: A delicacy made from the stomach and/or intestine of cattle or oxen.

2. Sweetbreads: A delicacy made from the thymus or pancreas of an animal, usually a calf.

3. Haggis: A Scottish delicacy. It is a pudding made of the heart, liver, gonades, etc. of a sheep or a

calf. These are cooked with spices and oatmeal in the animal's stomach.

4. The legend of Merlin and Stonehenge is common in Briton. It probably has its origins in 

Geoffrey of Monmouth's _History of the Kings of Britain._

5. Queen Mab: There are conflicting legends concerning her role, if any, with Merlin. She is believed

to be the Mistress of Magic; Merlin's 'mother'; and the sister of the Lady of the Lake. Queen Mab 

created Merlin to encourage the peoples of Britan to believe in magic instead of Christianity. She 

disappeared when people stopped believing in magic and turned to religion instead.

A/N Alright here is another update I will update if you be good and give me reviews. Flames will be used to heat my housed. 


	19. Quidditch Blizzard

(A/N Do I really need to say it again? Because I don't wanna! O.K., here goes...Harry Potter and all associated characters are the property of J.K. Rowling...Satisfied?)

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

_Chapter 19_

Quidditch Blizzard

It was now late March and Savana's _'nasty little experience'_ was ancient history to her. Their lives had all been relatively quiet during that time. The majority of their free time had been spent either in the library, or down at Hagrid's hut, trying to translate the information they had discovered over the Christmas holiday. 

They were making more progress with the translations, especially since Fleur Delacour had joined them. She was an expert with both of the necessary languages. With her help, they began to understand the nuances in the writings.

One of the books they had discovered pertained exclusively to how to use the Staff of Time. Unfortunately, large sections of it were badly faded and Fleur was spending alot of her free time reconstructing the writing.

Thus far, they had learned that the staff was most powerful if used in a circle of magic. Stonehenge was specifically mentioned in this segment. 

They had also learned that anyone who wanted to use the Staff of Time must possess three abilities; either alone or in combination with others using the staff. 

_ "The user(s) must be able to see the future (premonitions); have the _

ability to move things by sheer force of will (telekinesis); and possess the

ability to project one's essence into another place (astro-projection)."

It had gone on to explain how to activate the Staff of Time and preform a basic spell to view the past, or the future.

No one in the group had paid alot of attention to it once they had discovered that someone needed to have the ability to astro-project. They didn't know anyone who admitted to having that particular gift.

The writings which had proven the most pertinent, so far, were those found engraved upon the monument. They all pertained to the Staff of Time, in one way or another. What the group found to be the most interesting, however, was the copious amount of information about the labyrinth in which the Staff of Time was said to be hidden. The writings described several challenges which must be successfully negotiated in order for the searcher to gain access to the staff. The information they had translated so far, however, had not been very specific in either their descriptions of the challenges, or how to successfully negotiate those challenges.

It was now late on a Friday evening and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Savana, Fleur and Alex were all gathered around the table in Hagrid's hut. They had the writings, the copies, and several books which aided them in translation, spred before them.

Harry sighed, stretched and rubbed his eyes. He stared out the window at the snow which was falling rapidly, and heavily, from the sky. It had been snowing steadily since late that morning and it showed no sign of letting up anytime soon.

"I hope it's done snowing by tomorrow. I've never played quidditch in a snow storm before." Harry muttered.

"I have. It's actually alot of fun!" Savana piped up.

"Not to worry! We don't play quidditch in inclimate weather." Ron said in a distracted tone of voice.

"You're not serious?!" Savana demanded. "At home we play no matter what the weather is like. They called a brief time out once, when a tornado roared through, otherwise, weather has never been a reason to cancel, or post-pone, a game. You guys must be wimps!" Savana teased.

"Ha! Psych!" Ron crowed. "Of course we play in snow storms! _'Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night...'_"

"Give it up! You're not the United States Postal Service!" Savana chided him.

"Oh, so that's where I heard that saying." Ron chuckled.

"Now that our perpetual child is finished attempting to impress us with his wit, I think we need to take another look at the talismans." Hermione cut in. "I think I've discovered what they're used for."

"Just make sure you don't touch the Stone of Morpheous!" Savana added.

"Don't worry about that, I've stored it in a safe place." Alex assured them.

"What 'ave you found?" Fleur asked. 

"As I just said, I'm not sure about this, but I think most of the symbols that were on the monuments are illustrations of the tallismans." Hermione informed them.

"You must compare zhem, to be sure." Fleur added.

Hermione nodded and searched through the copies until she found a symbol that matched the talisman which she held in her hand.

"Eureka!" Hermione shouted in triumph. She set the talisman on top of its corresponding symbol. She picked up another and began searching anew. The others all followed suit.

Soon most of the symbols were covered by their matching talismans. They noted there was only one talisman which had no corresponding symbol, the Stone of Morpheous.

"I don't know if I'm relieved about its omission, or not." Alex said as he loked at the assortment of talismans laid out before him.

"The next trick is figuring out what was said about each one of these in the writings." Savana added eagerly.

Fleur was studying a page of writing above one of the talismans. She looked up from it and told them, "I can tell you zhat, according to zhis section, 'ere1, zhese talismans are all necessary to navigate zhe labyrinth. 'owever, eet does not say 'ow zhey are to be used. Merde!" Fleur added a few more explatives in French and shook her head with frusteration.

"Well, if the information is written here, we don't have enough time to pursue it any further tonight." Hermione reminded the others. They sighed and nodded in agreement.

"We have at least one thing working in our favore now," Hermione said as they began to put everything away. "Voldemort can't get through the labyrinth to the Staff of Time without those talismans, and we have them!" 

"Yeah," Savana agreed. "I hope that buys us some time."

The others had the same hope, but didn't feel the need to express it.

"There is another thing working in our favor, if we're concerned about time." Hermione reminded the others. "No one can enter the labyrinth unless there is a blue moon and the constellation of Orion is in ascendance. The next blue moon will be the last week of April, but Orion is only in ascendance during the winter months in this hemisphere. Consequently, it is unlikely that anyone can enter the labyrinth until sometime next winter. A blue moon will occur next January and Orion will also be in ascendance...I looked it up during astronomy class." Hermione added with a smile. 

"Somehow, I suspect Voldemort found a loophole to that little obstacle." Savana said with a sigh. "So, forgive me if I don't have too much faith in what you just said, or take comfort from it."

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Savana trudged through the rapidly accumulating snow to the castle. Then on to their respective dormitories, where they turned in for the night.

...`~*~`...

The next morning, Harry, Ron and Savana rushed through their breakfasts. They needed to meet with the rest of the Gryffindor Team and discuss their strategy for the best way to defeat Slytherin in a raging blizzard. 

After they had left, Hermione went up to the library with the intention of getting some research done. However, as she stood in the stacks, she overheard a stage whispered conversation between Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. 

__

"Oh, great!" Hermione thought. _"It's the local gossip squad!"_

"...and I heard the Yank is a freak!" 

"Do tell? I knew there was something odd about her. What did you hear?"

"Catlyn O'Shea, from Hufflepuff, told me that..."

Hermione wasn't able to hear the rest of the conversation because Lavender and Parvati walked away, giggling.

_"That's sweet of them," _Hermione thought sarcastically. _"Spreading gossip all over the school behind Savana's back."_

Hermione briefly entertained the idea of confronting the two gossip mongers, then decided against it. She would prefer not explaining that she had been evesdropping. The likely result of that admission would be gossip about her as well. Instead, Hermione packed up her books and left for the quidditch game. 

...`~*~`...

The snow was comming down so hard and fast that Hermione and the other spectators were barely able to see the players on the field. It was virtually impossible to identify who each individual player was, or to see the goals.

When Harry and Draco shook hands at the begining of the game, they both wondered how they would ever see the snitch through all of the snow.

The game got off to a rather slow start, due to the weather. It took awhile for the players to adjust to the lack of visibility and the effect of the heavy snow on the quaffle and the bludgers. The ice built-up on the quaffle, making it slippery and difficult to hold onto. The bludgers were almost impossible to see or hear. They simply made sudden appearences through the snow, then dissappeared again. 

Harry had already dodged several bludgers, which had barely missed him. His one comforting thought was that Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherin team had the same problems and disadvantages as his team, and he, had.

The game was going into its eighth hour and the score was tied. Harry thought he had seen the snitch a few times during the game. Twice it had turned out to be an optical illusion and the other times, the snitch had vanished by the time he had arrived. Harry huffed in frusteration and sat back on his broom as he surveyed what he could see of the field. 

Harry could see a few other players hovering on the edges of his field of vision. He suspected the one closest to him was Malfoy. He suddenly realised that there had been no cheating or foul play during this game, by either team.

_"That can't be true!" _He thought. _"Slytherin is probably responsible for this freak blizzard...somehow...who ever heard of a blizzard at the end of March?!...I'll bet I'm having these thoughts because my brain is getting frostbitten!" _ Harry realised with a start. 

He shook himself mentally and physically, then began to fly in a search pattern. Just then, Harry heard the _'whoosh'_ of a closely passing bludger along with a shout of, "Yee Ha! Ride 'em cowboy!" Curtesy of Savana as she flew past him with a manic grin on her face. Harry swore he saw little devil horns sprouting from Savana's head in that moment.

_"I must be loosing my mind!"_ Harry thought. _"We have got to finish this game before we all go crackers and end up in the nut house!"_

As that thought crossed Harry's mind, the bludger which had just missed him, hit the broom of a Slytherin player. The hapless player zoomed, nose first, into a deep snowdrift.

Harry realised that the player in the snowdrift was Malfoy and he laughed with glee. Malfoy looked more like the abomidable snowman than a human. Then Harry launched himself toward Malfoyat top speed. When Malfoy had hit the snow drift, he had caused a huge spray of snow. The snitch had appeared in that snow spray. It rode with the spray like a surfer riding the crest of a wave. Harry pounced and came up with the snitch in his hand while Malfoy was still wiping the snow from his face.

"I've got the snitch!" Harry shouted in triumph.

Thus ended one of the most unusual quidditch matches in the history of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

...`~*~`...

Several days later, Ron, Hermione, Savana and Harry, sat in the great hall eating dinner. It had taken a couple of days for everyone, players and spectators alike, to thaw out after the quidditch match. The snow had finally stopped falling the day after the match, April Fool's Day.

Savana snuck a quick look at Pansy as she limped past their table, and Ron sniggered. Pansy favored them with a murderous look, then continued on her way to Slytherin's table. 

"I heard the official story on Pansy's injuries is that she was hit by a wayward bludger. It was re-directed her way by yours truly." Ron said with a sardonic smile. "Of course, I know that I never hit a bludger anywhere near the stands during that match. Pansy just made-up that story to cover-up how she really got hurt...falling out of the stands when she tried to help poor, widdle Malfoy!"

"Enough Ron! The whole story has been done to death!" Savana told him wearily.

"Oh sure, what do you care? You're not the subject of the libelous tales Pansy is telling..." Ron hissed back at Savana. "...but you are the one who hit that bludger!" 

Savana flushed. She was formulating an appropriately nasty response when Harry interrupted with,

"...which hit Malfoy, who released the snitch from the snowdrift where it was buried, etc., etc...and if it hadn't happened, we'd probably still be out on the quidditch pitch! Now it's time to drop the entire topic." 

They all became involved with other conversations and people. They didn't notice Pansy, who periodically glared in their direction. Pansy had decided that it was time for everyone to see what a freak Savana was, especially Draco! Pansy assumed that when Draco saw how odd Savana really looked, he would loose all interest in the Yank.

Pansy excused herself from the table, saying she needed to fetch something which she had forgotten elsewhere. Then she left the great hall and went to the closest girls' lavatory, where she had hidden the things which she needed to make her plan a reality. Once she had retrieved them, Pansy quickly returned to the deserted entrance of the great hall. Her limp had mysteriously vanished as soon as Pansy was out of the sight of her audience.

Pansy furtively removed her wand from one sleeve of her robe and a large, completely filled, water balloon from the other sleeve. She snickered as she cast a spell of invisibility, then one of levitation, upon the balloon. Then she carefully guided her loaded missle until it hovered directly over Savana's head.

"Rupturea!" Pansy whispered with a viscious smile upon her face.

The balloon burst, dumping its load of water over Savana's head and shoulders.

Pansy quickly withdrew her wand back into her sleeve and limped pitifully back into the great hall. She wanted to watch Savana's humiliation as it occurred. Pansy felt a delicious feeling of triumph wash over her as she innocently watched events unfold before her.

Savana gasped and sputtered for air as the water poured over her head. Her eyes had been open, so the water also washed out her contacts. Savana didn't notice, however. She attempted to mop-up some of the water with a napkin. 

The great hall was silent and all eyes were on the soggy occupants of the Gryffindor table.

"Who did that?!" Hermione demanded. She was furious, as well as wet.

"It was probably Peeves, Hermione." Harry said.

"Yeah, this has his finger prints all over it." Ron added. 

"Where is that precocious, little, spook now?" Savana muttered as she took the napkin away from her face and looked around for Peeves.

"Look at her eyes! They're two different colors!" Someone shouted. Then it seemed as though everyone present was laughing and pointing at her.

"My contacts!..." Savana gasped. She looked to Hermione for conformation that they were indeed missing.

Hermione nodded back mutely. Savana jumped up and ran from the great hall as tears threatened to over flow. She ran into the girls' lavatory, locked herself into a stall and rolled -up into a fetal position in the corner. Then she began to cry her heart out.

"Why are you crying?" A female voice asked.

"Who's there?" Savana choked out through her tears.

"Oh, you have an accent! You must be the American I've heard so much about!" The voice sounded quite pleased with herself. "I'm Myrtle."

"I'm Savana." Savana said with a hiccough. She tried to dry her eyes and looked around to see where Myrtle was. "Why are you in here instead of eating dinner?"

"Because, I don't eat." Myrtle replied. Then she popped through the wall of the stall.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise you're a ghost." Savana apologised hastily.

"That's allright, I'm used to that response. I should have known you were new here. Most of the girls know this is my bathroom." Myrtle told Savana. "So, why were you crying?"

"My eyes...they were all making fun of me because of my eyes..." Savana hiccoughed again.

"I don't see anything wrong with them...they're two different colors, that's all." Myrtle said as she studied Savana's face.

Savana told Myrtle about the water balloon incident which had just occurred and the students' response. Her chest heaved and more tears threatened as a result.

"I know what it's like to be teased like that...the night I died, I was in here crying because another girl was tormenting me about my glasses..." Myrtle commisserated with Savana.

"Everyone says they understand how you feel, but they don't have a clue!" Savana said with hurt and anger boiling up in her gut.

The two sat in shared, silent misery for a few moments. Then Savana wiped her eyes again and stood up to face Myrtle.

"Thanks, Myrtle. Talking to you has made me feel much better." Savana said as she opened the stall door.

"Please, come and visit me again." Myrtle invited Savana as she stepped to a sink and splashed some cold water on her face.

"I'd love to, and thanks again for your help." Savana replied as she left the bathroom.

"I assume Myrtle is well, despite the fact you are not, for the moment at least?" Said a cultured, older voice from behind Savana as she stepped out into the hallway.

"So, you know what happened during dinner then." Savana replied sulkily. She kept her gaze averted from Professor Dumbledore. Savana didn't want him to see the cause of her shame.

"Would you please come with me? I think we need to discuss something." Professor Dumbledore requested and waited for Savana to turn and join him before he escorted her to a small parlor. 

Professor Dumbledore bade Savana enter and take a seat. Then he closed the door and sat down across from her.

Savana stared at the floor in front of her. _"Now what have I done?" _She thought in exasperation. _"This day just keeps getting better and better!"_

"Savana, I'm sorry you had to go through that..." Professor Dumbledore began.

_"Yeah, so am I!" _Savana thought.

Professor Dumbledore glanced at her sharply before continuing. "I had meant to speak with you about your eyes last January, when I realised they were different, but time got away from me."

_"Please, don't tell me that my eyes make me special, like my mother does..." _Savana thought with a sigh.

"I will tell you that your eyes mark you as a special person, but not for the reasons your mother told you."

This statement caused Savana to look sharply at Professor Dumbledore, who returned her gaze with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

Then Professor Dumbledore said, "Your control has improved greatly, however, you still project your thoughts when you're upset."

Savana smiled slightly and allowed herself to relax a little. "So, what's so great about my eyes?" She asked with a small laugh.

"They are the physical proof of an extremely rare talent, astro-projection." Professor Dumbledore explained.

"Say what!?" Savana exclaimed in suprise. "If I could do that, wouldn't I know it by now?"

"No, not necessarily. As with many other talents, the ability to astro-project may not appear until adulthood. It would also be difficult to control the talent without training." Professor Dumbledore told her.

"What do my eyes have to do with all of this? It's not as though one needs two different colored eyes to achieve astro-projection." Savana observed.

"While your observation is correct, it does not take into account the importance of genetics and their influence over our talents. In your family, and all those who are heirs of Merlin, the gift of astro-projection is _always paired_ with the physical trait of eyes which are two different colors. This fact has remained unchanged throughout history."

Savana sat back and digested this information and Professor Dumbledore was content to allow her to do so. Savana's features twisted in puzzlement as a thought crossed her mind. Then she said, "One of Merlin's writings, which we've recently translated, said that in order to use the Staff of Time you needed to possess three gifts; one of those gifts was astro-projection. We ignored what was written after that because we didn't know anyone who could do that. I guess I'd better tell everyone we had better take another look at that section, since this means we might actually be able to use the staff."

"Yes, you probably could, assuming you also knew the necessary incantations and spells." Professor Dumbledore agreed. "Now, I must meet Severus, so I can defeat him in a game of wizard's chess."

Savana smiled at the wicked glint she saw in Professor Dumbledore's eyes when he made the last comment. Then they parted company and went their own ways.

...`~*~`...

It was now close to the end of April and as the students of Hogwarts ate their breakfast that morning, the minds of the upper classmen were focused on the upcoming spring formal dance.

Draco Malfoy sat in his usual seat at the Slytherin table stirring his now cold tea and staring into space. He was determined to ask Savana to the spring dance. Today, before Neville or anyone else could do so. Draco could see one obstacle to his plan to escort Savana to the dance, Pansy Parkinson. If Draco were to take Savana to the dance, Pansy would waste no time before telling her mother. He could rest assured that Pansy's mother would complain to his father and his father would be furious with Draco. Draco suspected that the excuse of keeping an eye on Savana wouldn't be very effective this time around. 

__

"...there must be a way for me to take Savana to that dance without my father killing me for doing so..." Draco thought with frusteration. _"...but how?...I will need to be creative..."_

Draco's thoughts were interrupted by the cacophony of noise which accompanies a howler letter. He normally would have laughed heartily at the unfortunate reciepient of the letter. Given the nature of Draco's current thoughts, however, it could be just a matter of time before he recieved just such a letter from his parents.

While Draco attempted to figure out the safest way to escort Savana to the dance, Savana, Harry, Ron and Hermione were eating breakfast. The mail arrived and, along with it, Ron's copy of today's Daily Prophet. Ron grunted in satisfaction as he unrolled the paper, smoothed it and began to read.

"Oh, my-y-y...!" Ron uttered as his eyes widened in suprise. "You all had better read this...NOW!"

"What is so earth shattering that I need to read it before I've even finished my coffee?" Savana drawled, then wrinkled her nose in distaste as she sniffed that same beverage.

"Uhhh, Savana, Ron's correct. You had better read this, now!" Hermione whispered urgently.

Savana sighed and looked at the proffered paper. Then she gasped, uttered a strangled cry and fainted, at least that's what appeared to happen.

Savana shook her head to clear it and took a step backward in shock. She bumped up against a student who sat at the Slytherin table eating breakfast. The student appeared to be completely unaware of Savana's presence and continued to eat, uninterrupted. Savana looked to her right. She saw Draco Malfoy, who was absently stirring his tea and staring toward the Gryffindor table. Then she looked to her left and saw Professor Snape sitting at the faculty table. He was slurpping his tea while reading a book.

Savana felt strange, as though she were floating rather than standing by the Slytherin table. Then Professor Snape looked up from his reading and stared at her. Savana wondered if he could see her standing there. She opened her mouth to ask just that question of Professor Snape, but found herself looking at som spilled coffee on the Gryffindor table instead.

"Mmmph!" Savana said as she removed her face from the table and sat back up. She still felt a little disoriented.

"Savana! Are you O.K.?" Ginny asked from beside her.

"Wha...?!" Savana struggled to ask.

"You fainted! Are you ill? What happened?" Ginny peppered her with questions, but gave Savana no opportunity to answer them.

"This is what happened." Ron explained as he handed the offending newspaper to his sister.

Ginny's eyes widened in horror as she read the headline and accompanying article.

**_Stonehenge Estate Attacked!_**

Our favorite Dark Lord and his followeres attacked, and partially destroyed, an old country estate located near Stonehenge yesterday. The motive for the 

attack is unknown, and the only occupants of the estate, house elves, refused 

any interviews.

The estate is believed to have been owned by the heirs of Merlin...

"There is nothing in this article that would indicate your aunt and parents are in any sort of trouble..." Ginny said, more to calm everyone down than anything else.

"It's not what the article said, it's what it didn't say." Savana tried to explain, but her voice was chocked and the icy hand of fear squeezed her heart.

"Savana's family would never all leave the estate at once." Harry explained. "Merlin said one of the heirs must always occupy the estate, to protect it."

"I don't suppose they went somewhere on holiday, but neglected to inform you?" Ron suggested. His observation was mainly said in jest, but there was a fine thread of hope in it.

"We need to find Professor Dumbledore and ask him about this. I don't know what to do about this...it's out of my league." Savana said desperately.

"So, let's go." Ron said as he got up from the table.

"But we'll be late for class..." Hermione began to protest. She fell silent, however, when faced with the glares of the other four. "O.K., O.K...I know when I'm outnumbered. I have one condition though, Savana must explain why she 'fainted' while we're on the way to Professor Dumbledore's office."

Hermione also got up from the table and picked-up her things. Ginny stood awkwardly to one side. Ginny was uncomfortable with the idea of being late for, or skipping, her next class, especially since that class was potions with Professor Snape.

Hermione noticed this and kindly told Ginny, "We'll find you later and catch you up on everything."

"Thanks, Hermione." Ginny said with relief and ran off for her class.

While they walked to Professor Dumbledore's office, Savana described the strange thing that had happened to her when she had 'fainted' at breakfast.

"...it was so strange...and I was so upset...I still don't know what happened to me..." Savana shook her head in confusion.

"I think I know what happened." Hermione said with a smile.

"Do you intend to let the rest of us in on your little secret?" Ron ducked as he tossed out the verbal jabe because Hermione swatted playfully at his head.

"As I was saying...I think Savana had an out-of-body experience...astro-projection!...she can do it!" Hermione laughed as awareness dawned in the others' eyes.

The group stopped at the gargole which stood guard over the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office.

"I don't suppose any of you geniuses know the password?" Alex's sardonic voice came from behind them. He was fully aware that only faculty and staff knew it.

"Eet doze not matter." Fleur added as the others turned to face Alex and Fleur. "Professor Dumbledore eez at zhe Meanestry ov Mageek."

"But, I needed to ask him about that article in the Daily Prophet...I assume you've seen it." Savana demanded with a panicy note in her voice.

"We have seen the article and I assume that is why Professor Dumbledore went to the Ministry." Alex informed his sister and the others. "Fleur and I were just hoping to catch him before he left."

"Why?...I mean, if Professor Dumbledore already knew about the article..." Savana began to say, but Alex interrupted her.

"...because of this!" Alex told them as he handed Savana a piece of parchment which Alex had been holding in his hand.

Savana unfurled the parchment and read it with a growing sense of dred. Harry, Ron and Hermione bunched in with her and read the parchment along with Savana.

_"Alex and Savana Walker, _

We have your aunt and parents. This incident would have ended without your 

involvement, but we haven't been able to locate Merlin's talismans at the

estate. We know you have them, or know where they are located. If 

you ever want to see your aunt and parents alive again, you must come 

to the estate immediately.

A black carriage will be waiting for you in Hogsmead, outside the 

Shrieking Shack. We expect your timely arrival there...

You must bring the following with you: 1. Merlin's talismans; 2. Harry

Potter; 3. The rat;..."

The rest of the message detailed exactly where, and when, one of Voldemort's representitive would meet them.

"The rat?! I think old red eyes has finally lost it! Why on earth would he want a rat... and which rat is he talking about, Orion?" Ron said with a laugh. The others shrugged their shoulders in confusion. "Maybe Peter put that in...maybe he's started a Rat Liberation League, or something like that." Ron had meant this comment as a joke to lighten their collective mood, but the attempt at humer fell flat and died. The only reaction he recieved was an arched eyebrow, curtesy of Savana.

"I'll need to go back to Hagrid's hut and get the talismans, as well as Orion. I wouldn't have left him behind anyway. He gets a little schizy when I'm not around." Alex told the others. "Harry and Savana, get whatever you need and meet me down at Hagrid's."

Ron, Hermione and Fleur looked at each other, then cleared their throats collectively. "We're going with you." They told Alex, Savana and Harry in unison.

"No way!" Alex said quickly. "this is a one way trip guys. I don't want to be responsible for dragging anyone else into this mess!"

"You're not responsible for our choices, and we're already involved up to our eyebrows." Ron firmly informed his friends. "We're going with you."

"Did you not hear me?! This is a one way..." Alex began to say in extreme exasperation.

"We understand what you just told us!" Hemione interrupted. "We're coming with you."

"Who's going to tell Professor Dumbledore where we've gone if we're all off on this little adventure." Savana requested logically.

"We'll send him a letter." Harry informed her. "Give me the parchment. I'll send Hedwig with it and a letter explaining what we're doing." Harry held out his hand for the parchment.

Alex glared at Hermione, Ron and Fleur. "Are you sure...?"

"YES!!" They responded.

Fleur accompanied Alex to Hagrid's hut, where they quickly packed the talismans, many of the documents, and the copies of the monuments' engravings, in a knapsack. Fleur added some food and water. Neither of them noticed what Orion was doing as they completed their tasks.

Orion poked his nose out of his hut when he heard the unusual activity around him. He yawned, then stretched irritabley. As far as Orion was concerned, it was late at night and time to sleep. Orion sat and studied the humans for a moment. He wore a quizzical expression on his face and his bright, beady eyes took in everything going on around him. Then Orion scrambled down, underneath Alex's bed, where he rooted around until he found what he was searching for, the pouch containing the Stone of Morpheous. Orion grasped the pouch firmly in his teeth and tugged it free. Orion was carefull not to bite through the material surrounding the stone as he went about his task. The stone and pouch were almost as large as Orion was, but it was quite light weight. The determined rat carried the pouch up to Alex's pocket and took it inside of the pocket with him. Once there, Orion curled up into a ball on top of the Stone of Morpheous and went back to sleep.

A short time later, Harry, Ron, Savana, and Hermione joined Fleur and Alex at Hagrid's hut. Harry informed the others that he had dispatched Hedwig with the messages. 

Alex checked his pocket to be sure he had Orion. Orion blinked back at him sleepily. "Go back to sleep, buddy. The rest of you, it's time to hit the road."

The assemblage picked up their packs and followed Alex into their uncertain futures.

1. This isn't a gramatical error. Some of the French directional phrases literally translate as: This thing 

here, or that thing there. Fleur is employing one of those phrases. 


	20. Light into Darkness

yes

(A/N Harry Potter and co., do not belong to me. Ok, I'm done. I have got to find a more intresting way to say this.)

****

WARNING!! This is where the story heats up, so to speak. You may want to wait for me to finish the story before you read any further. (Or, I may want you to wait because I don't want a ton of e-mails asking me what's going to happen!) You have been warned! Read at your own risk, and if you don't like it... DON'T COME WHINING TO ME!!

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 20

Light into Darkness

Albus Dumbledore sat alone in the waiting room of the Minister of Magic. He mentally reviewed his arguments to persuede the Minister to help the Walker family while he waited. The scratching of a mail owl at the window interrupted Albus' train of thought. 

He went over to the window and opened it just long enough for the owl to fly into the room. Then he shut the window again. Albus wasn't terribly suprised to find that the owl was Hedwig, nor was he suprised to discover that the mail she carried was addressed to him.

_"I suppose it would be asking too much of fate if I were to hope Mr. Potter and his friends had somehow avoided becoming ensnared in this quagmire with Lord Voldemort." _Albus thought ruefully as he took the letters from Hedwig.

He patted her gently on the head, asked her to remain to carry a possible return response, then unrolled the parchment from Voldemort and read it with a growing sense of dismay. Albus was concerned about the contents of Harry's note. He heaved a deep, troubled sigh as he re-read the following:

__

"Professor Dumbledore, 

Alex recieved the accompanying letter of demands this morning. We 

attempted to find you and discuss the letter and the situation with

you, but you had already left for the Ministry of Magic. Therefore,

we decided to take matters into our own hands and hope for the best.

Fleur, Alex, Hermione, Ron, Savana, and I will have left for the Walker 

family estate by the time you recieve this letter. 

Please, don't try to stop, or rescue, us..."

Albus folded the messages and placed them in his pocket with a heavy heart. He dismissed Hedwig and fervently sighed his hopes for the group of would-be heros.

"Merlin, Please watch over these naive children and help them to succeed with their dangerous quest."

Then Albus went into the Minister of Magic's office, where he would attempt to effect some type of damage control for this entire fiasco.

...`~*~`...

Harry, Fleur, Alex, Savana, Ron, and Hermione, took the underground tunnel from the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack. Once in the shack, they dusted themselves off and walked out to the waiting carriage.

"Well, wasn't that a lovely little walk?! We'll have to do that again sometime soon...like never again in this lifetime! I feel like a giant mole!" Savana commented cynically. She carefully checked herself for any creepy-crawlies she might have aquired during the trip.

"It got us here without our getting caught, didn't it?" Ron replied irritably. He was beginning to have second thoughts about this entire undertaking.

"I'd REALLY apprieciate it if both of you would shut your pie holes unless you have something constructive to say." Alex snapped at them. "This whole thing already sucks royal. We certainly don't need you making things worse because you feel the need to behave as though you're still in diapers!" 

Savana responded by making a growling sound at her brother, but she took the hint and didn't say anything else.

They all climbed inside of the carriage and sat down. The moment they had done so, the coach sprang high into the air and began to spin rapidly. A few minutes later it landed with a _ 'whoomp' _near the stone monuments that marked the entrance to the labyrinth on the Walker estate.

_ "That was a rush! Let's do it again...straight back to Hogwart's!" _Savana thought sardonically as they all grabbed their things and exited the coach.

_"Stop doing that! You're broadcasting all over the place!" _Alex projected his thoughts toward his sister.

_"SO-RRY!" _Savana thought back to Alex. She wondered if she had ever been more miserable in her life than now.

Harry, Alex, and Savana looked over toward the house is dismay. Most of the wing containing the attic where Merlin's things had been stored, was destroyed. The ruins still smoldered. Whisps of smoke still rose from the blackened rubble and the acrid smell of stale smoke hung over the entire area like a death shroud. The sight of the destruction was completely incompatable with the soft greens of new life covering the rest of the area.

Harry, Alex and Ron jumped at the unwelcome sound of the voices belonging to some of their nemises. Raven, Lucious and Peter came into view as they stepped from behind one of the stone monuments.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Fantastic Four, plus two?!" Drawled Raven sarcastically. 

"Why are there six of you here?! We only told three of them to come here and they'll be trouble enough! We don't need three more problems!" Whined Peter.

"I wasn't aware we'd extended an invitation to all the loosers at that sorry excuse for a school either, but here they are." Lucious added snidely.

"Who are these twits and what's with the cute, little Halloween masks?" Savana stage whispered to Alex. "I've never had the misfortune of their aquaintence."

"That will be enough of your smart-alec remarks..." Lucious began to say in a nasty tone.

"Where do you have our parents and Aunt Christina? We were under the impression they'd meet us here." Alex demanded in an unpleasent tone of voice.

"You will see them in due course...when we deem it is time and not until then." Lucious replied. "In the meantime, we need to decide what we're going to do about the additional three squibs you dragged along with you."

"I think we should turn them all into flatworms, put them back into the coach and send them back to where they came from." Peter volunteered with a sneer.

"We came along with our friends to help them and to support them." Hermione blurted out. She tried to sound more confident than she felt. She failed.

"That's right. Where they go, we go." Ron added with a false tone of bravado.

Raven gave a derisive snort. "Bring them!" He commanded.

He turned and walked toward the stables. The others followed uncertainly.

Once they had reached the stables they followed Raven inside. He opened the door to the tack room and pointed toward the back corner. There, lying on the floor like three broken dolls, were Christina, Fiona and Gavin Walker.

"Mom...Dad...Aunt Christina...!" Alex and Savana cried as they ran to the adults. They were followed closely by the rest of their group. Raven, Lucious and Peter hung back by the door and watched with amusement.

"What 'ave you done to zhem?!" Fleur demanded.

"It's just a little stasis spell I concocted." Raven replied proudly. "It removes the need for us to waste our time and energy guarding them. This way, they won't cause us any trouble. They're fine. I've just slowed all of their body functions down until they're almost stopped...like they're sleeping...I find it to be a hand little spell..."

Lucious decided to interrupt before Raven spent any more time congradulating himself. "As long as you co-operate with us and do as you are told, your aunt and parents will not be harmed. If, however, you decide to cause trouble..." Lucious left the threat unspoken.

"...and in that spirit of co-operation, we expect you to wait here until we return for you." Peter said slyly.

Then Raven, Lucious and Peter quickly backed out of the tack room and shut the door. The group heard a large bolt being slid into place and they were left alone in the tack room with the comatose adults.

...`~*~`...

Several hours later, they were still sitting there, waiting. The sun had set and the moon, if it had been visible, would have risen by that time. 

They had spent the first hour, or more, trying to find some method of escape. The Death Eaters, however, had done an excellent job of locking them up, then throwing away the proverbial key.

"Come immediately...my Aunt Fanny!" Ron fumed. Then he bounced another pebble off the ancient, and very solid, stone wall. 

It missed the target circle he had drawn and bounced off Orion's back. The little fellow squeeked in suprise, then glared angerly at Ron.

"Oops! Sorry, Orion, I missed." Ron apologised. Though it was without any real sincerity.

"Stop playing that stupid game before you put someone's eye out." Savana groused irritably at Ron.

"What for?!" Ron replied in a poutey tone of voice. "The rest of you keep complaining that I'm interrupting your all important research, and you won't let me practice any of my spells on Orion..."

Orion turned once again to glare at Ron when he heard this last comment. He puffed up, so that he appeared as large as possible. His fur stood straight out in spikes and he held his tail straight out behind him and his spots took on a purple hue.

"That is one angry rat, Ron. Maybe you'd better lay off...after all, Orion's done his part to try and find a way out of here..." Harry said tenatively.

"Enchanted or not, Orion's still a rat. I used to practice spells on Scabbers all of the time...he was a wizard, after all..." Ron whined in a martyred tone.

"Yeah, maybe that's why none of your spells ever worked on him..." Harry began to suggest, only to be interrupted by Savana.

"Gee, ya think?!" Savana decided to add her two cents worth. She had nothing better to do and this would provide some entertainment.

"That will be more than enough...from all of you!" Alex said with more authority than he felt. "Orion, come here. Take this cracker and ignore Ron until he's decided to re-join the human race."

_"Ratty want a cracker?" _Ron thought caustically, but he knew better to say it outloud.

"If anyone is interested, Fleur and I have deciphered the use of the talismans..." Hermione began to tell them. 

However, no one seemed to be listening to her.

_"Will they help us get out of here?" _Ron thought with a certain amount of desperation. His attention was drawn to the door just then. Someone was opening the bolt! 

The others had noticed this as well and all of them focused their attention on the door as it opened. 

Death Eaters silently entered in a single file line. They turned either to the right, or to the left, as they came through the door and continued this until they had formed a circle of fifteen which surrounded the group from Hogwarts. Only one space remained vacant, it was directly in front of the door.

Harry knew exactly who was going to occupy that space. Shortly before the door opened, Harry's scar began to burn with an intensity which he hadn't felt for a long time. Searing pain shot through his head and his eyes began to burn and tear. Harry dropped to his hands and knees where he began to retch uncontrolably. He closed his eyes and fought for breath and self control.

While Harry was trapped in his own private hell, Voldemort had ostentatiously entered and occupied the remaining space.

Harry was the only person in the group who had ever actually seen Lord Voldemort, but the others were able to make educated guesses as to the identity of the last entrant. A chill passed over them as they felt the evil radiating from the specter before them.

Savana had to repress an urge to vomit when she saw Voldemort. He was tall and skeletal, dressed in dark, flowing robes. His face was an impossibly white death mask with a flat nose and slitted nostrils. The face was dominated by glowing, red eyes which had vertical pupils. Savana decided Voldemort closely resembled a malevalant, mutant snake.

Ron, who sat closest to the crumpled Harry, whispered to him, "Harry, are you..."

"Ignore him!" Voldemort commanded Ron in a cold voice. "So, you were arrogent enough to believe you could defeat me and keep me from the Staff of Time?! I should kill you all right now for that! However, you may be of some use to me, so I will exercise my considerable patientce."

_"That's big of you!" _Savana thought sarcastically.

**_"BE QUIET, YOU INSOLENT BRAT!!!"_**

The thought echoed through Savana's brain at a volume somewhere between a shout and a scream. It left Savana with a headache that felt like her brain was trying to liquify and run out through her ears.

The others noticed Alex wince and make a protective move toward his sister. Savana proceeded to roll into a fetal position with her arms crossed protectively over her head and made a pathetic meowling sound. She sounded like a small, wounded animal.

The Death Eaters laughed unpleasantly while Ron, Fleur and Hermione quickly re-examined their motivations for having joined this little expedition. They all concluded that they may have been somewhat cavalier in their approach to this entire situation, as well as naive. That, however, was in the past and couldn't be changed. All they could do now was try to approach any future trials and tribulations with more caution and wisdom than they had exercised previously.

Meanwhile, Harry and Savana were able to re-gain enough control over themselves to sit-up and pay some attention to what was happening around them. Voldemort fixed Alex, Harry and Savana in his cold-blooded gaze.

"You have Merlin's talismans with you..." 

It was more a statement than a question. Yet, Voldemort appeared to expect an answer from them.

"Yes." Alex decided he should make the expected response.

"...as well as the rat..." This was delivered in the same manner.

Again, Alex chose to be the respondant. "We weren't sure which rat you were referring to...the only rat we're aware of, who might interest you, is Orion. So, we brought him along..."

"Show us the rat...that I might be assured it is the correct one." Once again, Voldemort delivered the request in the form of a demand.

Orion had dropped the last remaining bit of the cracker he was consuming and dove deep into Alex's pocket at the approach of the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort. He made the fact that he had no desire to leave the relative safety of Alex's pocket very clear to Alex. When Alex reached into his pocket to bring Orion out, Orion nipped Alex's fingers. Alex managed to gently close his hand around Orion's body, despite that. As Alex attempted to remove Orion from his pocket, Orion spread all four paws stiffly away from his body in an attempt to brace himself inside of Alex's pocket. When that tactic failed, Orion clutched desperately at the material with his sharp, little toenails. Despite all of his pet's manoeuvering to the contrary, Alex succeeded in removing Orion from his pocket. Then, Alex gently attempted to display Orion to Voldemort, but found it necessary to keep his hand wrapped firmly around the struggling animal's body.

"Does it have the marking? Remove your hand so that I may better see the little beast." Voldemort demanded.

"I don't think that I..." Alex began to reply.

_"Imperio!" _Intoned Voldemort as he pointed his wand toward Alex.

Alex found himself forced to release Orion, who dropped to the floor on all four of his paws. Once there, Orion attempted to scrabble for any source of shelter he was able to find.

"Capture that filthy vermin!" Voldemort comanded his Death Eaters.

One of the Death Eaters lept forward and grabbed Orion by the tail. Orion responded to this assault by turning and sinking his teeth deeply into the finger of the Death Eater. The injured Death Eater quickly released Orion's tail. Orion dove back into Alex's pocket at warp speed.

"O-W-W-W!! The bloody bugger bit me!" Lucious howled in pain and rage as he grabbed his bleeding finger. "I'm going to break that bloody, little rodent's neck!" He growled and made a leap toward Alex's pocket.

"Leave the rat alone!" Voldemort thundered. Lucious stopped in mid-stride.

"But it..." Lucious began to protest, then realised who he was talking to and abruptly fell silent.

"We need that rat to accomplish my goals. It has become clear, however, that the animal will not co-operate with us. So, we will make use of Albus Dumbledore's little friends here instead." Voldemort said in a menacing tone.

Then he continued in the same tone of voice, "And Mr. Potter may inform them as to what the fate of their beloved parents and aunt will be if they dare to defy my wishes."

Harry gulped. "You'll torture them, then kill them?" He responded timidly.

Voldemort's only response was a cold smile which chilled them all to their very cores.

"Exactly what is it you would like us to do?" Savana responded through chattering teeth.

"You are going to successfully navigate Merlin's labyrinth and bring me the Staff of Time." Voldemort hissed. "Once you have accomplished that task, we'll discuss the possible nature of your futures." When Voldemort had said that, he silently turned and left the room.

_"What the...?"_ Savana thought.

_"You will take the talismans and follow me!!"_ Voldemort shouted through her thoughts, as well as those of the others.

They looked at each other. Then they silently picked-up their belongings and followed Voldemort from the room, into the night.

They marched over to the stone monuments. Once they had reached the monuments, Voldemort and the group from Hogwarts came to a halt between them while the Death Eaters formed a circle around the outside of the monuments.

"Open the labyrinth." Voldemort commanded.

"How can we open the labyrinth? It's the night of a blue moon, but the constellation of Orion won't be visible until..." Hermione began to say in her best 'Little Professor' voice. She was interrupted by Voldemort's mirthless laughter.

"My spies had led me to believe you understood all that Merlin had written, but now, I find your ignorance astonishing! Merlin was not refering to the stars, he was refering to the marking he placed on his pet rat. The animal is the key to opening the labyrinth. Place it on the ground, mid-way between the two monuments."

When Voldemort had finished chastising them, he turned and joined the Death Eaters in the circle surrounding them.

"I will give you three days and nights to recover the Staff of Time and bring it to me, no more than that." Voldemort warned them. "If you fail to bring me the staff by that time, I will deliver upon my threat to your aunt and parents. Now, place the rat on the ground."

Alex coaxed Orion out of his pocket and tenatively placed his pet on the ground. Orion sniffed around for a moment, as though he was searching for something. Then he began to scratch furiously at a spot in the dirt until he was satisfied with the results and stopped.

Alex had begun to fear that his little pet wasn't going to produce the desired results, when Orion pulled something out of the hole he had just dug and began to gnaw on it. Alex recognised the metal piece Orion had removed from Merlin's trunk at Christmastime. 

Suddenly, Orion's spots began to glow with a brilliant blue light. The light rapidly became brighter, and brighter. It reached a blinding intensity and surrounded the small group standing between the monuments. They were soon engulfed by intense blue light and a howling sound, reminisant of a tornado.

Harry felt a familiar yanking sensation behind his belly button and wondered if they were experiencing transportation by some sort of weird portkey. Then he was standing on rocky, uneven ground and feeling rather disoriented. The intensity of the light began to fade until it vanished.

Harry gasped in astonishment, for standing before them was an elderly man dressed in blue wizard's robes with a matching, pointed hat. The wizard was surrounded by a soft, blue aura. He had long, white hair and a flowing, white beard. The wizard studied the group with curious eyes. One of which was bright blue, the other, emerald green.

"Who are you and where are we?" Harry asked the wizard.

The wizard smiled enigmatically and replied, "I am Merlin. Welcome to my labyrinth." 

A/N Uh.....ok.....um.......I'm going to go check my life insurance and cach the next plain out of the countrey. ^-^;


	21. Into the Labyrinth

A/N List of things to do: Check life insurance; Write next chapter to story; Get plane tickets; Check life insurance......... HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING READING THIS!!!!?? Oh yeah...Harry Potter and co. are the property of J.K. Rowling. Now, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!!

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 21

Into the Labyrinth

"Merlin!! How can you be here?" Harry squaked in suprise.

"We've been told that you were trapped in the Phantom Forest by Queen Mab." Hermione added. She eyed the apparition suspiciously.

"What you were told is true. Since Queen Mab imprisoned both Nimue and myself in the Phantom Forest, hundreds of years ago, that has been my realm. I am able to project myself, however, through the combination of natural abilities and enchantments I have bestowed upon my pet here." Merlin explained as he indicated Orion.

The little rat sat grinding his teeth with contentment at Merlin's foot. The blue aura surrounding Merlin emanated from Orion's spots.

"Well, at least Orion isn't another animagus." Ron muttered.

"Why would you think Orion is an animagus and what difference would it make if he was one?" Alex asked a little defensively.

He was feeling a little hurt that his faithful pet had suddenly abandoned him for the newcomer. Intellectually, Alex realised Orion had been Merlin's pet for a much longer time than he had been Alex's, and therefore, would be most loyal to Merlin. Emotionally, however, it still felt like an affront to him. 

"I didn't see Orion after Merlin appeared and they're in the same spot. I assumed that meant that Orion had turned into Merlin. I was wrong, so shoot me, O.K.? 2 and 2 added up to 22 instead of 4." Ron explained. "And it wouldn't be anything earthshattering if he was an animagus...it's just that after Scabbers turned out to be an animagus too...I just felt like it was a bit over-the-top..."

Merlin chuckled. "Orion, as you call him, is only enchanted and the 'Merlin' you see before you is only a projected image." He explained.

"We were also told Merlin was able to astro-project, but not that you needed a vehicle to accomplish that." Hermione appeared a bit puzzled as she said this, which was only reasonable since Merlin was an extremely powerful wizard. He shouldn't need a familiar in order to astro-project.

"I wouldn't need any help, in normal circumstances." Merlin explained with a benign smile. "When Queen Mab imprisoned me, however, she wove several powerful spells around the Phantom Forest...a protective cocoon of spells, if you will...one of those spells prevents me from projecting myself outside of the forest. I was able to partially circumvent that spell by use of an enchantment which I placed upon Orion. It is only effective within the confines of my labyrinth, however. Once Orion, or I, leave the confines of the labyrinth, the spell is no longer effective."

"What do you mean, _"Once you leave the confines of the forest?" _You just told us you were imprisoned there." Hermione, ever the scholar, asked him.

"Ah, she is a clever one, this child!" Merlin said with an approving nod. "Her assistance should prove to be invaluable to you in negotiating my labyrinth."

Hermione blushed at the compliment. It was all the more meaningfull coming from Merlin, himself.

"The Phantom Forest, and consequently myself, isn't always located in my labyrinth." Merlin explained.

"I don't get it." Savana drawled.

"When Queen Mab banished Nimue and me to the forest, hundreds of years ago, I brought the Staff of Time with me and entombed it here. The passage of time, and the presence of the staff, have had unforseen effects upon the enchantments surrounding the forest. Queen Mab's enchantments weakened as the years passed. And because Queen Mab had vanished, they were never repaired or re-cast."

"I brought the Staff of Time with me and placed it in a protective sarcophagus for two reasons: The first was to prevent it from being taken and its power abused; the second was to prevent the fabric of time from destruction by the staff's energies." 

"The Phantom Forest was origionally a permanent part of my labyrinth. Those two factors which I have just explained, however, have caused the forest to begin floating in time...for lack of a more precise term. That is why you percive the forest to appear and disappear...to you the Phantom Forest appears in a particular location, then vanishes, only to re-appear at a later time. The inhabitants realise we don't disappear, we simply...re-locate...sometimes in the labyrinth, at others, near Hogsmeade..."

Merlin's image began to flicker as he said this. He looked like the picture on a television screen when the signal is being interrupted.

"...we're leaving the labyrinth again. I must tell you one thing before I go...(static)...Orion will help you...(static)...take the Staff of Time to Avelon...(static)...safe there...(static)...try to contact you again...(continued static, then silence)"

Then Merlin was gone and the group of crusaders was left alone on the rocky shore.

"It would have been helpful if Merlin hadn't faded out like that while he was trying to communicate that last bit. It sounded like it was important." Ron said. 

He picked up a flat stone and tried to skip it on the water in front of him. He was full of pent-up energy and frusteration.

"Nothing else about this whole situation has been simple or straight forward. Why should anything change now?" Savana said in a voice tinged with tension and anxiety.

Harry, Fleur, Alex and Hermione looked searchingly around themselves and tried to assess their current situation. They stood on the rocky shore of a tiny island which was little more than an enormous rock. The island was surrounded by mist shrouded water for as far as the eye could see.

"This doesn't look like a labyrinth to me." Alex stated definitively.

Fleur laughed, then said, "A labyrinth eez nothing more zhan a beeg maze. 'Owever, you are correct, we are not een zhe labyrinth. We are een zhe anti-chamber...zhe entryway."

"How do you know that?" Hermione squaked in suprise.

"I remember reading eet while we were doing zhe research. My memory ees, 'ow do you say...pho-to-gra-pheec." Fleur looked at Alex for confirmation that she had translated the idiom correctly. 

Alex nodded his head then Fleur continued with her explaination. "Zhe explaination did not make much sense at zhe time. Now zhat we are 'ere, what I read makes sense to me."

Savana and Ron had turned into the conversation. When they heard Fleur's last comments they looked at each other in confusion, then said, "Say what?!"

"She means things just fell into place, all right?" Alex clairified for them.

Savana and Ron snorted with suppressed laughter, but indicated that matters had been clairified for them.

"So, what do we do now?" Harry asked in hopes of re-focusing everyone's attention.

"Zhis sea ees endless...eet 'as no shore and we must leave zhes place because eet will soon disappear." Fleur warned them.

"What do you mean...disappear?!" Savana's voice was elevated in panic.

"She means this rock is an enchantment of Merlin's. It isn't a permanent fixture here and it's already beginning to sink! Look at the shore!" Hermione pointed at the shrinking shoreline as she said this.

"Oh, this is just brilliant! What does Merlin expect us to do now...lash our wands together and create a raft?!" Ron asked sarcastically.

Alex gave him a withering look. Then he asked, "Is there anything you ran across in the translations that could help us?"

Fleur nodded her head. "Oui...yes, I deed see something...a poem which said:

"Waters of great depth, You must now pass through,

Cautious you must be, Dangers plentiful lurk there for you. Whirlpools are many, Avoid them you must, 

For in them you'll drown, No matter how rightous or just.

Sea creatures abound there, Some killers, some not,

Avoid most you must, But one friend have you got.

A sea dragon is he, And if with him you travel,

Then safe shall you be. 

The sea shell talisman, Merlin created for him.

Use it to call him, Without it, You Swim!"

"Thankyou, Merlin. How come every bit of information he wrote down is in the form of a cheesy poem?" Ron muttered.

Harry, who had been standing on the sinking shoreline and was now knee deep in water, yelped in suprise. "Look at what I caught! Or, what caught me, depending upon how you look at it." He shouted.

Harry lifted his right foot and leg above the water level to show the others the strange creature hanging by its teeth from his pant leg.

"What is that?!!!" Savana laughed as she, and the others, studied the bizarre thing which had attacked Harry's pants.

It had a round, furry head with a small, rounded muzzle and a nose like a dog's. Its mouth was filled with a row of tiny, sharp, needle shaped teeth. The head was attatched to a fish-like body with stout pectoral fins and a tightly curled, pig-like, tail. The beastie was covered in black fur with the exception of its fuzzy, red belly. The creature studied them with its large, round, black eyes. It didn't seem to harbour any fear of them.

Alex laughed and commented, "That animal looks like a Pomeranian-Piranha hybred."

He extended a curious hand toward it. The beastie growled, then snapped at Alex. In so doing, it lost its grip on Harry's pants and fell back into the water. It swam away in search of other pursuits.

Ron assumed a high-pitched, mocking tone. Then he said, "Dear diary, today we met the strangest creature! It looked like it was part dog and part fish. We called it a pomerranna...would you all forget this nonsense and get the sea shell talisman out before those pomerranna have us for breakfast?"

The group was now standing on the last pinnacle of dry land.

"I have it here," Savana announced. "But I haven't a clue as to how to use it." 

"Give it here." Ron commanded as he took the shell from Savana's outstretched hand. The he placed the narrow end of the palm sized conch shell to his lips and blew on it like a trumpet. A piercing, high-pitched sound emanated from the conch shell. Ron repeated the blast two more times, for good measure.

"How do you know that's how that talisman was meant to be used?" Savana asked Ron.

"I don't know it for certain, but I remember hearing about ancient tribes using sea shells as horns. I never thought I'd actually get to do it someday." Ron grinned with delight.

They all watched in amazement as a large, green head broke the water's surface and approached them.

Orion apparently decided he didn't like the way events were heading and scrambled up Alex's leg into his favorite pocket.

"Oh, so now I'm your friend again?!" Alex teased his pet.

Orion's only response was to roll-up into a ball and happily grind his teeth.

The sea dragon swam up in front of them and stopped. He looked alot like a typical Chinese dragon, serpentine, green with yellow facial tentacles and sturdy fins where a land dragon's legs would be. He looked to be almost 10 meters long.

"Welcome, to you. I am Posiden, guardian of the Sea of Infinity. I am your humble servant." Said the sea dragon with a subserviant bow of his head.

"You look just like Milly, the lake dragon at home. You wouldn't be related, would you?" Savana said with excitement.

"She is my cousin..." Posiden began to respond, but Ron interrupted them.

"You can celebrate Old Home Week later. Right now we need a way off of this rock! Get away from me!" Ron started kicking at something in the water that was trying to snack on his ankles.

"I'm with you there!" Alex was also trying to fend off a hungry beastie. 

Finally, in desperation, he kicked at it, like a soccer player shooting at the goal. A pomerrana flew end-over-end, in a low arc over the water. Its jaws snapping the entire time, until it landed with a splash.

"Goal! Score one for me!" Alex crowed.

Posiden merely cocked his head in confusion. _"Merlin has certainly asked me to assist some very strange creatures this time." _He thought.

"I would like you all to stand as close together as possible." Posiden said. "That is good."

The group had slogged into a tight bunch.

"Now, hold still. I haven't done this in centuries." Posiden said as he took a deep breath, opened his mouth and began to exhale.

_ "How stupid are we?! This guy's going to turn us into a sea dragon shish-kabob and we're naive enough to be making it easier for him!" _Savana suddenly thought in panic.

It was too late to do anything about it now, however. There was nowhere to run to and something was already comming out of Posiden's mouth! Savana squeezed her eyes tightly shut and braced herself for the sudden blast of heat, but it never came. She forced one eye open and saw a large, pink, luminesant bubble comming out of Posiden's mouth. A moment later the bubble passed harmlessly through them (O.K., it tickled a bit) and surrounded them.

Savana smiled as she saw the water, and its inhabitants, were all effectively trapped outside of the bubble. She pushed at the inside surface of the bubble with an inquisitive finger. It stretched outward with no indication of tension. Savana pulled her finger away and the bubble wall bounced back. There was no indication that she had even touched it.

Posiden gently wrapped his tail around their bubble and said, "The journey to the mouth of the labyrinth is a long and ardurous one. It will take time and I may have some difficulty finding the opening. The door to the labyrinth is the only solid area in this relm of water and air. You would do well to make yourselves comfortable."

Posiden used his tail to guide their bubble between his rear pair of flippers. Then he used his flippers to hold onto the bubble as he dove beneath the surface. He used his front flippers and tail to propel them onward into the depths of the Sea of Infinity.

The passengers in the bubble sat down and made themselves as comfortable as possible. Harry settled his back against the bubble wall and watched a school of pomerranna which swarmed just past Posiden's powerful tail. There were other creatures out there too, but they were far enough away that they were only blurry blobs in the murkey depths. 

Harry decided to close his eyes and doze for awhile. It had been a long time since he had last slept and he had no way of knowing when, or if, he would have another opportunity for sleep before this was all over. The others must have had similar thoughts because they also closed their eyes and dozed off.

They were all rudely awakened sometime later by a jarring motion. Everyone was knocked into a heap as a result of the same motion which had awakened them. 

Someone with an American accent said, "Get your elbow out of my nose!"

Harry stared in horror at a large grey and black animal passing just below them. He watched, wide-eyed, as the four meter long beast turned sinewously, then launched another attack at them.

It looked like a shark with the mouth and eyes of a crocadile. The allashark (as Harry had dubbed the creature) opened its jaws as it approached them. They were greeted by the sight of four rows of long, sharp, pointed teeth. 

Suddenly, they were rolled away from the allashark as Posiden made a defensive move. Next, Posiden hit the allashark across the head and shoulders with his broad, muscular tail. 

This sent it spinning down into the depths.

Unfortunately, it was quickly replaced by another, slightly larger one. This allashark did a couple of bump and run manouevers to try and shake the bubble loose from Posiden's tenacious grip. Then the first allashark decided to re-join the attack.

Posiden stopped his descent, tucked his tail protectively over their bubble and between his rear flippers. Now the passengers could only see through portions of the bubble wall which weren't covered by Posiden's tail.

Harry pressed his nose up against a portion of the bubble with a forward view. He was just in time to see both of the allasharks make a head on run toward them.

Posiden swung his massive head to face the would be predators, then he opened his mouth. Something resembling a miniature blizzard blew out of Posiden's gapping maw. It surrounded the attackers, causing them to freeze solid and sink out of sight.

Posiden uncovered their bubble and resumed his previous course of travel. It was not long, however, before they were being pursued by an entire school of allasharks.

Harry thought, _"I wonder if Posiden can freeze all of them?"_

But Posiden seemed to have another plan in mind. He began to swim faster and changed his vector of travel.

Harry looked out of the front of the bubble and saw they were now headed for a whirlpool funnel. Posiden appeared to be swimming on a collision course with it! Harry's worst fears were quickly realised as Posiden once again protectively covered the bubble with his tail, then swam into the whirlpool. Harry wondered if any of the allasharks were suicidal enough to pursue them into the funnel.

Apparently, a few were bent upon just such a course of self-destruction. Harry saw them fly by shortly after they had entered the whirlpool.

The ride through the swirling vortex was short and violent. They all had to admit, however, it was fascinating. While they were in the outer portion of the whirlpool, they traveled in a rather smooth, downward spiral. As they were pulled toward the center, though, the ride became much rougher. Posiden, and the passengers in his precious bubble, were tossed about like so much chaff in the wind. 

The center of the vortex consisted of foam, which wouldn't support their weight. Consequently, they ended up doing a rapid free-fall through the foam until they landed in the narrow bottom of the funnel. Once there, they were promptly spit-out with enough force to partially bury them in the small patch of sand underneath. Then the sand completely swallowed them and they landed with a 'whomp' in an underground cavern.

"My portion of the journey has ended." Posiden informed the group.

Then Posiden inhaled deeply and the bubble surrounding his passengers turned into mist. It vanished up his mouth and nose while his suddenly released passengers tumbled onto the sandy floor.

"Where are we?" Harry asked as he gazed around the cavern.

"This is thge entrance to Merlin's labyrinth." Posiden explained. "Now, I must leave you to find your destiny."

"Wait, you're the only source of light. We need to conjure up our own source of light before you leave us." Alex said.

Posiden had begun to glow as they had gone deeper into the sea and the sunlight had faded. Presently, his bright, greenish-yellow light was illuminating the entire cavern.

Alex and Fleur conjured up some lanterns for the group. Then they all thanked Posiden for his help. 

"Please, tell my cousin Milly 'hello' for me." After Posiden had said this, he lept up through the cavern's ceiling and vanished back into the sea.

"Now where do we go and what do we do?" Savana asked as she took in the cavern.

"The writings said there would be a doorway to the labyrinth in here." Hermione informed them.

Ron, who had been checking the perimeters of the area called out, "I think I've found it!" 

The rest of the group joined him near a door sized opening in the wall. They all read, with interest, the writing engraved in the stone next to the openig. It read:

_"May honor be your brother,_

And strength be your friend.

May luck be your lover,

Until we meet again."

~Merlin~


	22. Trials of the Labyrinth

(A/N This is getting old. Ok here it goes, Harry Potter and co., do not belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling. There, now if you don't mind I have a Plane to catch. TAXI!!!! P.S. I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. The floppy it was on started to degrade and I lost most of the chapter. I had to start over from scratch.)

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 22

Trials of the Labyrinth

"What does Merlin mean by that?!" Ron exclaimed.

"How should I know? It isn't as though he were her to ask, is it?" Savana responded irritably.

"Perhaps strength, honor and luck are all attributes we'll need in order to navigate the labyrinth." Hermione suggested. "Then again, he could simply have been wishing us well. Sometimes a banana is just a banana." She giggled, but the others didn't understand what Hermione found so funny.

"It's an old joke..." Hermione began to explain, but stopped when they heard noise in the cavern opening next to Merlin's message.

Savana came stumbling out of the opening, looking like she had just encountered the devil itself. Her hair was dishevaled, her face pale. Her eyes were wide with horror and most of her backside was covered with mud.

"...daggers...whosh!...past my nose..." Savana babbled.

"Calm down, you're not making any sense." Hermione cautioned Savana in a soothing tone of voice.

"I decided to get on with things and take a look at the entryway. But I slipped on something and fell backward onto the ground. Then millions of darts came shooting out of both the walls...some of them went right past my face...they missed me by this much..." Savana held her thumb and forefinger a few centimeters apart to show the others how close the darts had come to hitting her. "...if I hadn't fallen, I'd be a human pin cushion by now!"

"How stupid can you be?! Wandering off alone like that?! You're lucky you didn't get killed!" Alex barked at his sister with something approaching hysteria.

Savana felt her face burn with anger and embaressment. She was thankfull the others couldn't see her face because of the low light.

"From here on, no-one goes off on their own. Agreed?" Alex added.

The others mutely nodded their heads in agreement. It seemed to be a reasonable safety precaution for them to follow.

"No more walking into anything without checking it out first either." Hermione added judiciously.

Once again they nodded in agreement.

"We need to figure out how to successfully get through that corridor, especially since Savana has demonstrated there are traps which must be avoided." Harry commented.

He was attempting to re-focus the group's attention on the task at hand.

Fleur began to speak. "Je pense que..."

"English Please!" Cried Hermione, Ron and Harry in unison.

"Oui, je m'excuse, s'il vous plait." Fleur apologised.

She was not aware that she was still speaking in her native tongue. It was a habit she lapsed into when she was feeling extremely stressed, as she was now.

Alex whispered to her, "Fleur, your apology was also in French."

"Oh! Please, excuse my lapse! I think zhat we are to use a talisman to protect us from zhis trap." Fleur added.

"Yes, I think you are correct. I recall one of the talismans a being shaped like this." Hermione said as she touched the ~ mark beside Merlin's name.

Harry quickly sorted through the talismans until he found the appropriate one. 

"I've found it but it looks too long for it to fit the engraving...wait a minute..." Harry manipulated the talisman for a moment, then he seperated it into two pieces. "...now they should fit into those engravings perfectly."

Harry handed the talismans to Hermione who fitted each one precisely into its counterpart. Then everyone looked expectantly at the corridor entrance. A light shone through it, otherwise there was no visible difference.

"The talisman turned the lights on, but I don't know if that trap has been disarmed. And I won't volunteer to be the guinea pig to test it." Savana declared.

"I've got an idea of how to test it." Harry volunteered.

Harry removed his pack, placed it in front of the corridor, and took out his wand. He pointed his wand at the pack and intoned, _"Wingardium leviosa!"_

The pack rose obediently into the air. Then Harry moved his wand to guide the pack forward through the corridor. The pack began to move into the corridor, then abruptly fell to the ground. No matter what spell Harry tried to use, it would not move again.

"What is the problem here...is something wrong with my wand?" Harry muttered as he shook his wand in frusteration. "Perhaps one of you should give it a go."

"I don't think that will be necessary, Harry." Alex informed him with a laugh. "Take a look at this." He continued while pointing to the message Merlin had left in the cave wall.

Another message had appeared under Merlin's name. It was written in glowing blue light, and in English.

_"There is no magic except mine, in this my realm."_

Merlin

"The message must have appeared when Hermione placed the talismans in the wall." Harry commented after reading the message.

"I wonder what it means. I wish Merlin would just tell us things straight out instead of communicating with all of this cryptic rubbish!" Ron muttered in frusteration.

"Merlin is from an era in the distant past and they spoke in a very different fashion from the way we speak today. He is probably being as direct as he can be." Hermione reminded Ron.

"I suspect the true meaning of that message is this: We can put away our wands because our magic won't work in here. The only magic which will work in the labyrinth is Merlin's." Alex informed them.

"O.K. Now the first message makes sense. If we can't use magic, we'll be left to our own devices." Savana said with a shake of her head. "So, now what do we do?"

"We pick-up 'arry's pack and go through zhe corridor. Zhe trap ees disarmed." Fleur informed the others.

Then she handed Harry his pack and walked down the corridor. The others tenatively followed her lead and they traversed the corridor with no more trouble.

The corridor ended abruptly at a rock outcropping overlooking a bottomless ravine that was at least half a kilometer across at its narrowest point. The outcropping on which they stood was flat, about three meters wide and stuck out approximately four meters over the ravine. 

It was obvious to all of them that Merlin intended for them to cross the ravine, but the method of crossing they were to employ was a mystery.

"What do the writings say we're supposed to do here?" Ron asked.

He looked expectantly at Fleur and Hermione. Fleur and Hermione looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders in confusion.

Ron sighed in response and wondered what had posessed him in the first place, when he had decided to come along on this vacation from hell. He slumped down into a sitting position with his back against the ravine wall and began to rack his brain for a solution to their present predicament.

__

"This would be easy to solve, if we could only use magic." Ron thought ruefully. _"Perhaps Harry and Hermione will come up with something since they grew-up among Muggles."_

Hermione and Fleur had been going through the writings as Ron sat in thoughtfull resignation. A short time later, Hermione gleefully cried, "I think we've found something here!" 

She waved an open scroll with excitement. Then she spred it out in front of her as the others gathered around it so they could also see the scroll.

"Why are we all trying to look at this? It isn't as though any of us, except Fleur and Hermione, can read the thing!" Ron muttered to himself.

Ron was pleasantly suprised, however, to find that the scroll was dominated by three drawings and a minimum of the troublesome, ancient language. The first drawing depicted the crevasse and rock out-cropping the group now stood upon. 

They all recognised the second drawing. It depicted one of the talismans they now carried with them. This particular talisman was a silver disc, a bit larger than an American quarter in size. The engraving on one side of the disc was of a torch and a road. The other side was engraved with the now familiar Celtic writing Merlin preferred to employ. Fleur interpreted the phrase as: _"I will light the way to the golden path which leads to safety."_

The third drawing was essentially the same as the first one. The only difference was a bridge or a path, it was difficult to tell which, that spanned the void before them.

"The writting underneath each of zhe drawings ees an explaination of zhe picture." Fleur began to explain.

Hermione elaborated for them, "According to these explainations, placement of this talisman into the proper receptacal will either create a bridge over this chasm, or make one visable. I'm not sure which. In any case, we need to get the talisman out..." 

"I'm way ahead of you there!" Alex exclaimed and held up the necessary talisman. "But where is this elusive receptacal?"

"Eet ees in one of the torch sconces. 'owever zhis does not indicate which one. We must search for eet." Fleur explained as she rolled up the scroll.

They quickly found the two torch sconces in question. The torches were located on either side of the platform, three meters above them on the ravine wall.

"There's only one talisman...it dosen't seperate, does it?" Savana asked hopefully.

"No such luck...there's only one correct answer this time." Hermione replied.

Hermione craned her neck as she searched the right side sconce for an indication that the talisman belonged there. Her search proved to be fruitless. 

A moment later Savana called out, "I've found the receptacal! How are we supposed to put it up there?! It's not as though we can use our magic to accomplish the task. If we could it would be a piece of cake."

"Is there something we could use to climb up there?" Harry asked hopefully. "...something we could use as a ladder, the rock wall, maybe...Orion! No, the talisman is too large...I know! One of us can climb up on Alex's shoulders!..."

"Why don't we just throw ourselves over the edge of the cliff?! It'd be just as effective!" Savana added sarcastically.

Savana stared into the bottomless depths under the torch sconce in wide-eyed terror. She wasn't usually frightened of heights...then again she had never been without the use of magic, either. She suspected that was what she was actually afraid of, not the height.

"I don't think any of that will be necessary." Alex informed the others as he studied the situation. "Merlin said our magic would be useless, not our natural abilities."

The others didn't appear to register the meaning of Alex's statement at first. So, he prompted them with one word, "telekinesis."

"What are we going to do when the talisman falls into the cravasse because you don't have as much control over your telekinesis as you believe you have? We'd be trapped here!" Savana sounded panicy.

"Oh, ye of little faith, baby sister!" Alex responded with a grin. "Keep in mind, I've had a few more years of training and practice than you have. However, if it'll put your mind at ease, I'll preform a little demonstration for you...right here...in the safety of our living room."

Immediately after saying that, Alex looked at the talisman, which he still held in his hand. It rose into the air and moved toward Savana. Alex made it stop briefly in front of Savana's nose, then spin and bounce back and forth, as if it were dancing. Then Alex guided the talisman to come to a rest on his sister's head.

Savana frowned in consternation while the others chuckled at Alex's antics.

"O.K. You've proven your point!" Savana scowled, snatched the talisman from her head, and handed it back to her brother. "Here, put it in the receptacal and leave me alone!"

"How long has it been since we left the presence of _'His Lordship'_ ?" Ron asked.

"11 hours and 36 minutes." Harry responded after checking his wrist. "It's an old watch of Dudley's. He broke it, then threw it in the trash. I rescued it from the rubbish bin and fixed it." He added shyly.

"It's a good thing you did that." Ron nodded to Harry with approval. "Your watch may be the only way for us to know how long we've been down here, or when we need to be back..."

Ron stopped talking as he watched Alex manouever the disc into position on the sconce. They heard a snapping noise as the talisman was settled into place.

Almost immediately, the entire ravine exploded into a rainbow of bright lights. When the intensity of the lights had dimmed, they beheld an amazing, and unexpected sight. The abyss was now spanned by hundreds of bridges, at all levels, in all shapes and sizes, and in a multitude of directions. They were of all different colors and hues, but they all shone with an inner light.

"Well isn't that special? How are we supposed to know which of these is the correct bridge?!" Ron muttered. "The picture had only one bridge in it."

"Ron, get a clue! We're in a maze! The correct answer isn't going to be obvious!" Savana snapped at him.

"Merlin did tell us which bridge we must take. We need to find the golden one. The others must be traps and dead ends." Hermione informed the others in her group.

They spent the next few minutes looking over as many of the bridges as they could see and identifying which would be the most likely candidates for the correct route.

"I've identified 10 possible bridges." Alex told the others.

He pointed out those bridges he believed to be the correct ones. The others agreed those were the best choices.

"10 choices are still 9 too many. We need to narrow the field, somehow." Harry added.

"Zhe talisman said we must take zhe golden path. Zhese six," Fleur pointed to the bridges in question as she said this. "Are either stairways, or 'ave stairways in zhem. A path does not contain stairs."

The others agreed with Fleur's hypothosis. They spent the next several minutes eliminating three of the remaining four choices. This left them with one bridge. It was a plain, golden arc over the crevass which ran along the left side of the platform on which they stood.

Hermione felt secure in the group's decision and decided to be daring. She wanted to be the first of them to cross the bridge, so she volunteered to be the test subject.

"Wish me luck!" Hermione said as she stepped down onto the bridge of light.

Hermione screamed and clawed desperately at the rock wall beside her, as the bridge she had sought to step upon, disappeared in a flash of light. Her desperately grasping hands caught hold of a jagged piece of rock which stuck out from the wall.

"HELP!!" She screamed in terror as she hung there clutching the rock. 

Ron dropped to his belly, inched his upper body over the edge of the cliff, and reached down to Hermione. She hung just out of his reach.

"Hermione, try to grab my hand." Ron called down to her.

"I can't! My hands are slipping...I'm going to fall!...do something, fast!" Hermione wailed.

"I'll hold your feet..." Harry began to suggest to Ron when Alex interrupted him.

"Let me try something. I'll need you to move over, Ron, so I can see Hermione." Alex interrupted Harry.

Alex moved to a spot where he could clearly see Hermione. Then he concentrated his telekinetic energy, first on stabilizing Hermione. Then he tried to raise her back up to the rock out cropping, but it was too much for him.

"Savana, I need some help over here!" Alex called in a strained voice.

"I'm here for you bro, but I'm not sure how much help I'll be." Savana told him.

Savana concentrated on adding her telekinetic power to Alex's, but she didn't have his strength, or control. The addition of Savana's efforts was the deciding factor and between them, Alex and Savana were able to raise Hermione to Harry's and Ron's waiting hands. They easily pulled Hermione the rest of the way to safety.

Hermione sat with her knees drawn to her chest, her head down and her arms wrapped around her shaking legs. Her fingers and hands bled where the rock had torn the skin from them.

Fleur rubbed Hermione's shoulders and spoke softly to her while Ron and Harry also added words of comfort. Savana and Alex had collapsed in exhaustion near the tunnel entrance. Neither of them had ever tried to move anything as big as a person with telekinesis and the experience had left them drained of energy.

Thirty minutes later, they felt recovered enough from their ordeal to renew their search for the correct bridge.

Savana and Alex began testing their bridge choices by telekineticly lobbing rocks onto the bridge in question. One by one, the bridges they tested disappeared in a flash of light. Soon they had eliminated all 10 of their original choices, as well as several other possibilities. 

"Now what do we do? We could spend the next three weeks testing these things and still not find the correct bridge! Plus, this has given me a pounding headache." Savana sighed in frusteration.

"I give up. We've eliminated every bridge in the vicinity that could possibly be considered gold, yellow, or even brown." Alex said and he joined his younger sister.

Harry and Ron continued searching for the correct bridge while the others rested and vented their frusterations.

"Fleur, would you tell me what that phrase on the talisman said once more?" Harry asked a short time later.

Fleur repeated the phrase for Harry.

"I think we've been barking up the wrong tree, so to speak." Harry said. "Take a look at this bridge and tell me what you think."

The others moved over next to Harry and looked at the bridge he was pointing to. It was about one meter below the platform on its far right side. The bridge in question looked like a rainbow with a tarnished gold path down the middle of it. It curved in a long, lazy arc toward the far ravine wall, where it ended in a series of downward spirals.

"Test eet." Fleur suggested.

Alex obligingly dropped a rock onto the path below. The rock landed on the path, bounced, then rolled to a stop along one side. The bridge was still there.

"Boys and girls, I think we've found our winner!" Alex crowed. "It's time to be movin' on."

"...just follow the yellow brick road...." Savana chirped in a high, Munchkinsque 

voice.

She began to sing, _'Follow the Yellow Brick Road' _1 as Alex executed a side vault over the cliff edge and onto the golden path below. Alex was quickly followed by Fleur, Harry, and Savana.

Hermione gazed uncertainly over the edge. She was feeling quite sore and stiff after her fall earlier. The entire incident shook her sense of trust and of self-confidence.

"I'll help you." Ron whispered into Hermione's ear.

"Thankyou. I'd appreciate the help." Hermione wore a small smile as she responded.

Ron vaulted down then reached up and held Hermione around the waist. He helped to ease her down onto the path from there. Once there, they began to follow the others on the golden path over the ravine. When they were about three quarters of the way across, the path began to descend in a gradual spiral. It added almost one third of a kilometer to their journey, but eventually they reached the end of the path and the far side of the ravine. The path ended on a platform which was similar to the one they had recently left behind. They could also see a corridor located in the ravine's rock wall.

Ron and the others cautiously peered into the mouth of the corridor.

"It's as dark as a moonless night in there. I assume we need another talisman to activate it." Ron commented.

Ron, Harry, Savana and Alex looked expectantly at Fleur and Hermione. 

Fleur told them, "I must 'ave a minute to think."

Then she took out the scroll with the pictures of the talismans and studied them.

"I believe I understand what we must do, but I must check with one last scroll." Fleur told the others while she checked through the scrolls and withdrew the object of her search.

The others, with the exception of Hermione who studied the scroll along with Fleur, busied themselves exploring their surroundings while they waited.

"What is this?" Ron muttered as he examined a vertical slot in the rock wall.

"It looks like the slot in a vending machine." Harry laughed.

Ron, Savana and Alex gave Harry a puzzled look.

"It's a Muggle device." Harry explained. "...one places money in the slot and recieves the item they paid for in return...oh, forget about it, you'd need to see it to understand what I'm talking about." He concluded weakly.

"If it's any comfort to you, I do know what you're talking about." Hermione told Harry.

"We 'ave figured out what we must do 'ere." Fleur added and she held up a golden, octagonal, talisman. It was the size of a silver dollar. "We must put zhis into zhat slot."

"Does the scroll mention what will happen when we do that?" Ron asked suspiciously. "I would hate to use that talisman only to discover that it makes this platform disappear, or something equally unpleasant."

The others swallowed hard and nodded in agreement.

"The scroll says: _The golden path will lead to a riddle, which must be solved in order for the traveler to reach the Staff of Time."_ Hermione informed the group, while frequently referring to the scroll. "There is nothing written here which would indicate any sort of trap."

"Why don't I find that reassuring?" Ron muttered.

Fleur put the scrolls back into the pack while Hermione placed the talisman into the slot in the wall. She was rather disconcerted when the talisman rolled into the wall and out-of-sight. The other talismans had remained where they had been placed.

_"I wonder where it went?" _Hermione thought with rising panic. _"What if this is the wrong slot...maybe it was meant to be placed elsewhere..."_

Hermione's thoughts were interrupted when the corrider before her was flooded with light and words appeared in glowing purple above the slot.

_"Roses are red, violets are blue. Here is a riddle from me to you."_ Savana thought as she read the riddle. (It was actually more of a question.)

It read: "_Who is the most famous of the Gorgans?"_2

"I realise I'm admitting my ignorance by asking this, but what is a Gorgan?" Harry asked. "I don't recall studying them yet."

"The Gorgans are women with snakes for hair. Looking at them will turn one to stone. Medusa is the most famous of the Gorgans." Savana responded. Then she added, "I love Greek mythology."

The group studied the corridor before them, now that it was visible. The walls and ceiling were unremarkable. The floor, however, consisted of hundreds of tiles, each of which was engraved with two letters, one upper-case and one lower-case. Each tile square measured one third of a meter on each side. They filled the corridor floor from one wall to the other, and from one end to the other. The tiles spanned a distance of approximately 75 meters. The letters on the tiles were a mixture of several different alphabets. They were able to identify the English, Greek, Gaelic, Celtic, and Phonetician alphabets, among others. 

The letter tiles were mixed in no discernable pattern. There were English letter tiles between tiles with Greek letters, or Gaelic letters, etc.

"Isn't this just lovely? We know the answer, but not the language we're supposed to answer in." Savana grumbled.

"Medusa was a character from Greek mythology. Perhaps we are meant to respond een Greek. 'owever, I do no read, write or speak Greek, can any of you?" Fleur asked.

The others shook their heads 'no' in response to her question.

"I think Merlin intended us to answer in English." Ron suggested with more assurance than he felt. "He asked us the question in English...it's only logical that we answer in English."

"Then why are all these other alphabets mixed in here?" Savana asked.

"Their obvious purpose is to confuse us. This is a maze, remember?" Alex responded. "And I think, since it's Ron's theory we're testing, that Ron should have the honor of going through the corridor first. We'll follow once we know it's safe. All those in favor say 'aye'!" 

"NAY!" Ron shouted as the others giggled. 

"Oh, allright. I guess someone has to be brave enough to give it a go." He relented a moment later.

Ron faced the corridor and began to select his route. He found the tile with the English upper and lower case M in the second row of tiles. Then he thought he saw the letter M in the first row, next to the corridor's left wall. Ron edged over to the wall and looked at the letter in question more closely. The upper case letters were both the same; M. The lower case letters, while greatly similar, had one difference, an extra flourish on the second tile's lower case letter.

Ron blinked, then muttered, "Merlin is one tricky, old, devil...now I know why all of these tiles contain an upper case and a lower case letter...it's the only way to tell some of them apart...this is the Greek letter Mu, not an English M...if I had stepped on that tile!...I'm also beginning to understand what Merlin meant when he wrote, _'May luck be your lover...'_ "

"So can I...luck must be closer to us than a good friend, if we hope to survive this place. I wonder what he meant by the strength and honor comments..." Alex mused.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know!" Savana announced. "Ron, why didn't you tell us you could read Greek when Fleur asked us?"

"Because, I can't read Greek." Ron responded with a shrug of his shoulders. Then he elaborated by telling the others, "Fred and George made me learn the Greek alphabet before they would let me join their club when we were little. They thought I wouldn't be able to do it. I still remember it." He grinned sheepishly as he said this last bit.

"Are you ready to do this puzzle now?" Hermione asked nervously.

She hoped they had figured out the correct answer because she didn't want anymore unpleasant suprises.

"Yeah, I've located the first three tiles we need to step on. I suggest you only step on the same tiles as I do. There's no telling what will happen if one of us steps on the wrong tile, and I don't want to find out." Ron said as he prepared to jump onto the M tile.

Ron lept and landed upon the first of the six tiles he needed to hit in order to successfully navigate the corridor. Then he lept to the E tile and Hermione lept to the M tile. Ron and the others continued on in this fashion until Ron stood upon the S, Hermione the U, Savana the D, Harry the E, Alex the M, and Fleur waited her turn at the beginning.

_"One last jump and I'll be out of here."_ Ron thought with relief.

He had spotted the A in the final row of tiles, near the right wall. Ron looked at the tile and jumped. He realised his error a millisecond before he landed on the A square. Rather than choosing the English A tile, Ron had mistakenly chosen and landed upon, the Greek letter Alpha tile.

Ron heard the others advance behind him as stone slabs began to drop down over the corridor exits and the walls began to press inward on them. 

They were going to be crushed and there was no escape!

...`~*~`...

Draco approached the door to Professor Snape's office and knocked hesitantly upon it. He was unsure of the wisdom in alerting Professor Snape to his feelings concerning Savana Walker, but he wanted to find out what had happened to Savana.

"Enter." Professor Snape's fatigued voice responded to the knock.

Draco opened the door, walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He noted that Professor Snape looked exhausted.

"I...uum...I just wanted to ask you if...umm...if you knew what has happened to Savana Walker? She's been absent from class the past three days...I just wanted to find out if she's allright,...not ill, or something..." Draco felt tongue tied.

"I am already aware of your romantic interest in the girl, Mr. Malfoy. You needn't fear that you are revealing any intimate secrets to me." Professor Snape replied smoothly. "However, I am unsure of her current status. We have only been informed that there was some sort of family emergency, nothing more."

Professor Snape was telling the truth, for the most part. Professor Dumbledore had only told the faculty there was a family emergency. However, he knew far more than he had told Draco. Unfortuneately, he was not free to discuss anything more with the obviously uncomfortable teenager who now stood before him.

"Thankyou anyway." Draco replied.

Then he turned to leave, but Professor Snape said something which made Draco pause.

"Don't make the same mistake I made in my youth, Mr. Malfoy. If you truly love her, then act on it. Do not disreguard it and hope you will find love again, for you will not. Then you will regret what you did not grasp when you had the chance."

"Yes sir." Draco replied with a bit of confusion.

He turned and let himself out. Once Draco was outside the door, he paused and wondered why Professor Snape would say anything so revealing to him and why he would behave in such an uncharacteristic manner.

_"He must have had a tragic romance in the past which he now regrets."_ Draco thought.

He looked up and saw an unfamiliar man approach him in the hallway. 

The man was tall, in his late twenties, had fair skin and dark hair. The man paused outside of Professor Snape's door and looked at Draco.

_"Perhaps I should ask him..."_ Draco began to think, but Crabbe and Goyle approached him at that moment. 

Draco didn't want to explain why he was there, or what he had been doing, to his friends. So he fell in step with them and chose to save his ruminations for another, more private, time.

Raven strode arrogantly into Severus' office without even the curtesy of knocking.

"How dare you show your face here?! Even an American should know better than to enter Hogwart's grounds if he is a servant of Lord Voldemort." Severus sneered.

Raven donned a superior expression and smiled unpleasantly at Severus before telling him, "I was sent here by the Dark Lord himself. He would like to know why you did not come to him when he summoned you three days ago. Lord Voldemort is not very happy with you, at the moment. You must rectify the situation immediately." Raven smirked as he said this.

Severus glared at the pompous intruder and replied, "I need not explain myself to the likes of you. Suffice it to say, I had my reasons...and before you get too high and mighty, I know exactly who you are and why you are here, in the United Kingdom." Severus's tone of voice implied a threat.

Raven merely raised an eyebrow and responded, "Then you also know it is imperative that I not compromise myself, or my mission, by discussing these matters further."

"Then state your purpose in comming here." Severus hissed impatiently.

Raven answered simply, and with a veiled threat of his own. "I am here to escort you to Lord Voldemort, at Stonehenge."

1. Baum, Frank; THE WIZARD OF OZ; Movie by MGM Studios.

2. The Gorgans were three sisters in Greek mythology with snakes on their heads. They were said to be so hideous

that looking upon them would turn a person to stone. Medusa was the most famous of the sisters. 


	23. Merlin's Grotto

(A/N Allright, Harry Potter and Co., do not belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling. So there, can't touch me! ^-^ )

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

chapter 23

Merlin's Grotto

Professor Severus Snape was in an extremely foul mood by the time he had reached Stonehenge. 

He fumed, once again, as he thought about the problems he had experienced in attempting to notify Professor Dumbledore as to what was happening. Raven had been in the way at every turn. (Severus suspected the behavior was deliberate.) It had made leaving a message, without tipping-off Raven, almost impossible. He had finally managed to leave Professor Dumbledore a message and he was certain Albus would find it in due course.

Raven and Severus had arrived at Stonehenge just as the sun was setting. The majority of the Death Eaters were there, but Lord Voldemort was conspicously absent. Severus discovered the order of the day was _'Hurry up and wait'._

"Where is Lord Voldemort and why are we waiting here, twiddling our collective thumbs?" Severus discretely questioned Raven.

"The Dark Lord is waiting in a more comfortable environment and the delay is due to Potter and his 'little friends'. They went into the labyrinth to retrieve the Staff of Time for Lord Voldemort. He gave them until tomorrow night to complete their task, or they and their relatives, will cease to be a problem to us." Raven smiled unpleasantly.

"Why didn't Lord Voldemort get the staff himself?" Severus asked.

Raven gave him a sidelong glance of disapproval so he quickly added, "...I understood that to be the plan...those brats could sneak off with it..."

"They had the talismans needed to make it through the labyrinth alive. That could have easily been delt with, however, the rat..."

Severus interrupted Raven with the exclaimation, "The rat! What rat?"

"The Walker boy made a pet of the rat that opens the doorway to the labyrinth. It wouldn't co-operate with us. Lucious Malfoy tried to pick the thing up from the ground, but it bit him!" Raven smiled at the delicious memory of Lucious's encounter with Orion. 

"Rumer has it that he turned into an ordinary white rat for several hours. Then he became himself again. Too bad, as a rat Malfoy might have been almost personable."

"Lord Voldemort decided to make the boy and his friends risk retreival of the Staff of Time." Raven smirked and shrugged his shoulders, then walked away.

Severus sighed and kicked at the dirt for a moment. Then he went off in search of a comfortable place to sit. For the present, all any of them could do was wait...and be bored out of their skulls.

...`~*~`...

Alex saw that the door in front of Ron hadn't completely closed. He focused all of his telekinetic energy on the slab and tried to raise it back up to the ceiling. Unfortunately, that feat proved to be too much for Alex's abilities.

"Savana, help me open that door!" Alex grunted from the exertion.

"...can't...got my own problems with...(pant)...walls!" Savana gasped in response.

Alex continued trying to keep the door open long enough for the others to make an exit, but he was quickly loosing the battle.

Ron saw an opportunity for escape and he took it. He dove headfirst through the closing gap between the bottom of the slab and the floor. He barely made it through before the door closed with a heavy, and final, 'thunk', behind him. 

Hermione had attempted to follow Ron through the opening but had aborted the attempt when the slab had nearly landed on her outstretched arms. She quickly pulled her arms under her body, tucked into a ball and rolled to the side. Hermione came to rest against the wall. She shook with the knowlege of her close call and took a moment to calm herself before assessing her situation further.

Alex changed his focus to assisting his sister's efforts in keeping the walls apart. Harry, Fleur and Hermione tried to find some way out of their predicament in the meantime. 

Ron found himself sprawled in the dirt on the other side of the rock-slab door. The area was poorly illuminated. The only source of light was that of the setting sun. Which filtered through an opening in the ceiling.

Ron sat up and noted, uneasily, that this motion caused a rustling sound. He sensed a multitude of tiny somethings skittering away into the darkness. He chose to ignore both the sound and the warning alarms blaring in his sub-conscious. He did try to quiet them, however, by quickly brushing himself off with both of his hands. Something clung to his left hand, as he completed this action, and he shook the hand to dislodge the piece of floatsome. The thing momentarily clung tighter, then began to scuttle up Ron's arm upon its multiple legs.

"GG-AAAA-GGHH!!!" Ron shrieked, as he lept to his feet and slapped at the offending creature until he had succeeded in knocking it to the stratosphere. "I HATE SPIDERS!!!"

Ron spun around, searching for a route of escape. The only thing he accomplished by doing this, however, was to discover that he was in a room full of spiders! The floor, walls, and ceiling were covered with arachnids of all shapes and sizes. (Actually, Ron's range of vision was limited by the failing sunlight, but his imagination happily cooked up the rest of the hellish vision for him.) Ron froze in place, afraid to move for fear of discovering even more of the little beasts.

The rest of the group heard Ron's muffled scream from beyond the door.

"Ron! What's happening over there!" Harry shouted toward the sound.

The only answer he recieved was silence. Harry tryed again. This time he was assisted by Hermione and Fleur. They got the same result as Harry had before...silence.

"Savana, could you project yourself to Ron's location and find out why he's screaming?" Hermione asked in a fear choked voice.

"I'm not sure...I don't have much control...it's pretty new to me...I can try, though...sorry, Alex...you'll have to do what you can..." Savana responded.

Savana sat on the floor and focused everything inside of her, as she mentally sought out Ron. 

Savana found herself floating in a dimly lit cavern, filled with spiders, and facing Ron. He was frozen in place, like a well sculpted, granite statue. Spiders crawled on his shoes and lower pantlegs. He appeared to be terrified of something, however, Savana couldn't make out what had so frightened him.

__

"What is your problem!?!" Savana's essence shouted at the frozen teen-ager.

Ron didn't even flinch. He gave no indication that he had heard Savana. So, Savana stuck her face within mere centimeters of Ron's face and repeated the question in the loudest voice she could muster.

Ron's eyes shifted, as though searching for something. That, however, was his only response.

Savana slapped Ron upside the head in frusteration. Her hand passed through Ron's sweaty brow and he shivered. He made no other response to her efforts.

Savana sighed in defeat. She was about to withdraw back into her body when she saw a golden glimmer under the spiders on the floor. Savana leaned down to take a closer look. As she did so, the spiders scattered to reveal the talisman they had used on the other end of the corridor.

__

"At least there's something that senses my presence!" Savana thought dryly.

The arachnids remained at bay as Savana reached down and attempted to pick-up the talisman. She had forgotten that she had no physical form. Savana's hand passed through the talisman and the spiders skittered over each other in their rush to flee from her presence. 

"AAHRGG! GET AWAY FROM ME!!" Ron shrieked.

He took a step backward to get away from the tide of spiders washing toward him.

_"Ron's scared of spiders!"_ Savana thought with a laugh. 

Then she smiled deviously as a wicked thought crossed her mind. _"Maybe I should herd most of the little buggers toward Ron. Then, maybe he'll realise I'm here."_

A moment later she decided that would be just plain mean, and counterproductive as well. They would need Ron's help to escape the corrider and scaring him half out of his mind wouldn't help matters any. They did need to find a way to communicate with Ron, however, since her present attempts clearly weren't meeting with any success.

Savana's extended out-of-body experience was tiring her. She decided to re-unite herself before she was too exhausted to lend any assistance to their survival effort.

Savana opened her eyes and found herself sitting on the floor in the puzzle corrider. She looked around her in an attempt to assess their situation. She noticed the walls had made some slow progress in toward each other. Alex was fighting a loosing battle, but his effort was still buying them time. 

"What's happening over there? Is Ron O.K.?" Harry demanded.

"Oh, he's physically allright, for now." Savana responded with a chuckle.

"Why did 'ee scream?" Fleur asked with concern.

"The entire cavern is literally crawling with spiders...and Ron's terrified of them!" Savana burst into laughter as she explained this.

"It is not funny!" Hermione stormed. "Savana, you know how badly Pansy hurt you when she teased you about your eyes. How can you treat anyone in the same manner...especially a friend?!"

Savana felt her face burn brightly with shame. "You're right. I'm sorry I made fun of Ron, even though he wasn't present to hear that. I shouldn't have made fun of him. I'll try to behave more honorably in the future." She said contritely.

Harry murmured, _"May honor be your brother,..."_

The others nodded in agreement as the full meaning of the phrase dawned on them.

The moment of enlightenment passed and they re-focused on their current predicament, which was becoming more dire as each minute ticked by.

"Savana, did you see anything over there which could help us out of our situation?" Harry asked.

"Maybe...I saw the talisman we used to activate this puzzle...perhaps there is a switch, or something, over there that will open the doors and disarm the trap." Savana answered.

"Can you go back over, find the switch and tell Ron what to do?" Hermione thought outloud.

"I can't tell Ron anything while I'm there. He dosen't seem to hear me. However, I could go back and find the switch." Savana responded.

"What good will eet do for Savana to find zhe switch eef she can not tell Ron where eet ees?" Fleur reasoned.

"We'll deal with problem when we get to it." Harry told her. "Go Savana. Alex isn't going to hold out much longer."

Savana gave her brother, who was obviously in great distress, a sympathetic look. Then concentrated on returning to Ron and his chamber of horrors.

Savana blinked upon her return to Ron's side of the wall. The light was rapidly fading and seeing anything was becoming difficult. She searched the walls near the doorway, spiders scattering at her touch, and was quickly rewarded with the discovery of a switch.

"Yes!" Savana cried in victory.

Savana tried to communicate with Ron one more time. He remained rooted to the spot. It was obvious Ron was incapable of hearing her.

Savana shook her head and returned to her body. 

"I've found the switch. Now we have to find a way to tell Ron what to do." Savana told the others. "He can't hear us over there and he couldn't hear me when I was over there."

"Maybe communicating with him telepathically was just more than you could do, given the fact that you were already projecting yourself." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Perhaps you should try to send Ron a telepathic message now." Fleur suggested.

Savana shrugged. She would give it a try, after all, she had nothing to loose by trying.

A moment later, Savana gave up the effort. 

"It's no use." She informed them. "I can't penetrate the door."

"Perhaps eef both you and 'arry were to try at the same time..." Fleur said thoughtfully.

Harry and Savana looked at each other. "We'll have to decide on the message, so we're projecting the same thought." Savana told Harry.

A moment later they had decided upon the message they would be projecting. They both concentrated on Ron and began to project their message.

_"Ron! You've got to help us, NOW! Ignore the spiders! Pick-up the gold talisman by your right foor and place it in the slot on the door's left side. DO IT NOW!!"_

A second later they herd another muffled scream from Ron. 

"I think he got the message." Hermione said with a grin.

As soon as Ron placed the talisman into the switch the cavern was flooded with light. The spiders scurried from the light. They disappeared into a multitude of dark nooks and crannies until few remained.

"It would have been nice if they'd done that before I had to dig through hundreds of those disgusting creepy-crawlies to put the talisman where it belonged." Ron muttered.

He looked around him and saw that he was in a large, rock cavern which narrowed to a corridor at the far end.

Inside the puzzle room, the walls stopped their inward progression and the slabs began to rise back up into the ceiling.

Alex groaned and collapsed where he had been standing. He was soaked in sweat and trembled with the spent energy of his exertions. 

Orion climbed out of Alex's pocket and waddled over in front of Alex's face. He nudged one of Alex's cheeks with his nose, but got no response from the prostrate wizard. Orion backed up a couple of steps. His face bore a confused expression. Then Orion's spots began to glow. Soon, both Alex and Orion were bathed in the blue light and a third figure appeared, hovering over them both. It was Merlin.

He told Savana and the others, "The boy shall come with me to rest and replenish himself."

The three abruptly vanished in a flash of blue light.

"...is everyone in there allright?" Ron's tremulous voice reached them.

"Let's get out of this place before something else happens!" Harry said.

He followed the other three as they rushed out the door.

"Where is Alex?" Ron asked.

Harry quickly described Alex's heroic feat and consequent exhaustion to Ron. He completed his narrative with an explaination of Merlin's rescue of Alex.

"...I assume we'll meet up with them later." Harry concluded.

"Ron, thankyou for overcoming your fear of spiders and releasing us from that trap." Hermione told him softly.

The others also stated their gratitude.

"Yeah. That was pretty gutsy of you." Savana added. "I'd like to hear your side of the story, once we're safely out of this fun house."

"I'll look forward to that." Ron responded. "Harry, how much time is left before we're supposed to get back to old snake head?"

"26 hours and change." Harry responded with a grin.

He had heard Alex use the expression once and had wanted to try it out for quite some time now.

"We'd better get moving then. There's no way of knowing how much further we need to travel." Harry said wearily.

Harry wondered how much longer he could function without sleep. He was so exhausted, he felt he could sleep for a week. The others looked like they felt the same as he did, sleep deprived and bone tired.

They began moving toward the far corridor. Ron lagged behind the others. He wanted a souvenir of his victory over the spiders. Then he spotted the gold talisman which was still in the switch and decided it would do nicely. He reached out, plucked the talisman from its nitch, and put it in his pocket.

The room began to shake. There was a loud rumbling sound and the lighting dimmed.

Ron looked toward the source of the sound and his eyes widend in horror. A huge, spherical rock, three meters in diameter, was rapidly bearing down on him.

"Ron, what did you do!?!" Savana screamed at him.

Ron responded, "RUN!! I'll explain later!"

They all ran toward the corrider as fast as they could move. The boulder was thundering along behind them, and it was gaining on them!

...`~*~`...

Alex groaned and struggled to open his eyes. His head felt like a rotten melon that was about to cave-in upon itself. He forced one eye open, then the other. Alex briefly thought about getting up. However, as soon as he moved his head, he realised what a bad idea that was. Alex struggled to take in as many of his surroundings as possible without moving his aching head. It was difficult because the only light came from a guttering candle near his cot, and a fire burning in a central firepit.

It appeared he was in a large, circular hut. The hut had low wooden walls and a domed, thatch roof. There was an opening in the roof's apex which allowed smoke from the fire to escape from the hut. 

Alex could hear the low hum of voices engaged in conversation, just outside of the hut. One of the voices was distinctly feminine, the other was masculine and elderly. Alex felt he should know who the voices belonged to, but his brain stubbornly refused to release the information to him. Alex tried to force the knowlege to the surface, but he felt like his brain was wrapped in cotton batting.

The voices grew louder as their owners opened the door and ducked inside. The woman was bearing a cup which she set down on the table next to the cot Alex occupied.

"How lovely, you are awake! You must be feeling better." She said with a smile.

Alex looked confused and asked, "Who are you and where am I?"

"Oh, I have forgotten my manners, please excuse me! We have been trapped here alone for so many years. I am Nimue. You met Merlin earlier..." Merlin smiled and nodded to Alex. "...and you are in our home, in the Phantom Forest."

"Oh, ..." was all Alex managed to say, at first. 

Alex wished the information made more sense to him than it actually did at the moment. However, his brain just didn't seem to be functioning at peak efficiency. He would have liked to shake his head, but it hurt too much.

"Why am I here and not in the labyrinth with the others?" He queried.

"You are suffering from exhaustion, due to your exertions in the puzzle trap. They have caused a temporary imbalance of your body and spirit. To have left you thus, would have caused your death." Merlin explained. "Nimue has prepared a potion to aid in your healing. Please, drink it."

Nimue held the cup to Alex's lips with one hand, while supporting his head with the other hand.

Alex drank hesitantly. He expected the potion to taste nasty, but it was suprisingly delicious. It was sweet and left the lingering flavor of meade on Alex's tongue.

The mere effort of drinking left Alex exhausted. He knew there was one more question he wanted to ask of Merlin, but the harder he tried to capture the thought, the further away it got from Alex's conscious mind. Despite his nagging feeling of uncertainty, Alex quickly fell asleep.

...`~*~`...

Harry, Savana, Hermione, Fleur, and Ron bolted into the corrider at warp speed, despite the lack of light, with the boulder bearing down upon them. They couldn't see the end of the tunnel and were watching the walls for any openings that would allow them shelter until the boulder passed by them.

Suddenly, Harry's foot landed on nothing but air! He yelpped as he fell into the mouth of a chute!

Harry was quickly followed by Savana and Hermione. The three of them began a rapid slide down the chute toward oblivion. They all tried to grab ahold of anything they could find, to stop their fall down the chute, but the walls were too smooth. So, they continued their downward tumble unimpeded.

Fleur and Ron saw the other three disappear, but with the boulder threatening to squash them at any minute, they couldn't take the time to worry about the fate of their friends. They stepped to the side of the tunnel and continued running for another two meters before they too, fell into a chute. They heard the boulder thunder past overhead as they slid helplessly toward the unknown.

Harry's bumpy ride down the chute ended abruptly, as he tumbled out of the mouth of the chute and landed on the ground a meter below. He rolled to one side just in time to avoid Savana and Hermione landing on top of him.

Just as Harry began to wonder what had happened to Fleur and Ron, they tumbled out of the same hole and landed on top of Savana and Hermione.

"Thanks for the landing pad!" Ron quipped as he untangled himself from the others.

"There's an idea for a real winner of a theme park ride!" Savana commented sarcastically as she dusted herself off, after disentangling herself from the others.

They looked around them in the pinkish-gray light of early dawn. Ground fog swirled around them and water droplettes glistened on the spider webs and surrounding vegetation.

They had been deposited into an area that was a combination of swamp and bog. Many of the trees were moss covered and something resembling Spanish Moss hung from their branches. Much of the spongy ground was covered with a thick carpet of sphagum (peat) moss. Hidden life forms filled the air with various sounds and songs as they ended, or greeted, their day.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked with a gulp.

"We're in the laby..." Ron began to quip, when Savana interrupted him.

"Don't even think of completing that comment!" She warned him. "We already know that much!"

Ron grinned. Then he said, "O.K., then how about this? We're in the Phantom Forest."

"What are you basing your brilliant conclusion on?" Savana questioned archly.

"Look, listen and smell..." Ron commanded with a superior tone. "I see tabby creepers and rustiflora up ahead of us. In the shadow of the forest. I hear drakes in the far distance, and I smell meekowart!"

Harry nodded in agreement. "This does look like the forest the Death Eaters took me to on Halloween."

"Eet smells like eet too!" Fleur added and plugged her nose.

"So, which way do we go, genius boy?" Savana said in disgust. "I mean it's obvious that we can't go behind us, because of the rock wall. We can't go to the left because of the lake. But, that still leaves alot of options and alot of ground to cover."

"I can 'elp with zhe choice." Fleur volunteered. "Zhe scrolls said zhe Staff of Time ees een zhe forest. Zhat..." Fleur pointed to their right. "...ees an open bog. We should go forward. We must be careful of where we walk." She warned them as she started forward toward the edge of the forest.

The others fell in behind her, carefully choosing where they stepped. There was a definate danger of stepping into a bog hole and falling through to the icy water below, or of encountering a hungry, carnivorous plant that would find a palatable meal in one of them. So, they exercised caution in their choice of route.

They noticed a stand of rustiflora to their right and tabby creepers purred from the many trees which they were wrapped around, or hung from. Savana approached a small rustiflora and scratched it on the chin.

"Aw-w-w, aren't you just the cutest little...whatever-you-are?!" Savana cooed.

The rustiflora wore a drunken grin and a bit of drool escaped the corner of its mouth.

"Savana! Stop chucking that thing's chin and back away from it! NOW!" Ron hissed urgently at her. 

"Why?" Savana demanded in a poutey tone, but she did back away as Ron had demanded.

Ron explained the danger Savana had just placed herself in. Then he also explained the dangers posed by drakes, tabby creepers, etc. Just in case Savana hadn't already been warned about them.

The group walked around, and past, the carnivorous plants, giving them a wide berth. They entered the forest and continued walking down the pathway which led deeper into the woods. The sunlight had become dappled and their eyes were adjusting to the lack of light, when something swept past Harry's head.

"Something, about the size of Ginny's bat, just flew past my ear!" Harry announced uneasily. "I think it flew into the treetop over there."

The group looked up in the direction to which Harry was pointing, and saw a black mammal that was the size of a small house cat, fly up through the branches. A moment later they heard a _'whomp'_, which caused the tree's branches to shake and the animal flew back out over a nearby clearing. It flew in a series of drunken loops back into the trees. This manouever was followed by another crash.

"What is that thing?" Hermione asked in a tone of bewilderment.

"It's a feelobat." Responded a feminine voice.

"Who said that?" Savana demanded and craned her neck, so she could see into the clearing.

"I did. My name is Nimue." Replied a petite woman with long, brown hair, as she stepped into full view.

Nimue's hair was pulled into a ponytail on one side of her head. The fair, translucent skin of her face radiated joy from within, as did her large, deep brown eyes. She smiled at the weary group in welcome.

Nimue continued her welcome by saying, "Merlin and I have awaited your arrival. Alex awaits you as well."

Nimue beconned the group forward into the clearing. They moved forward with renewed energy, suspecting their quest was nearing an end.

As they approached Nimue, she turned and led them into the clearing while telling them, "We have prepared some refreshments for you...so as to fortify you for your forthcoming tribulations..."

Ron groaned and said, "You mean there's more...?"

Nimue smiled sadly and told him, "I do not wish to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the answer to your question is, yes. However, I can tell you no more than that."

Ron frowned. _ "I should have known she'd be as enigmatic as Merlin!" _ He thought with frusteration.

Nimue made a gesture toward a table, laden with food and beverages, which stood under a small grove of willow trees. They were delighted to see Alex and Merlin already seated at the table.

"Please, be seated and partake of..." Nimue was interrupted by a loud crash in one of the treetops.

"...not again..." Merlin sighed under his breath.

As the group looked on, they saw a black feelobat slide down a tree trunk from under the canope. The feelobat sat in a dazed slump against the tree trunk for a moment. Its large, gold eyes spun in confused circles, and one of its oversized, batwing like ears was bent at an odd angle. It shook itself off, stood up and staggered over toward Merlin. Then it made a clumsy leap into Merlin's lap, almost missing it's target. The feelobat looked at Merlin with its oversized eyes and made a _'duh-meow'_ sound.

Merlin stroked the feelobat's back as another, far more graceful, feelobat swooped down and came in for a landing near Nimue's feet. This feelobat also had oversized golden eyes, black batwing ears and a long, black, monkey-like tail. Its cat-like body, however, was covered with gray fur and wide, black tabby-like stripes.

"Is that another feelobat?" Savana asked.

"Yes." Merlin responded while he continued to stroke the black feelobat's fur. "They are our pets. That one is named Celine..." Merlin indicated the tabby feelobat. "...and this one is named Baghira."

"No offense, Merlin, but Baghira appears to be rather inbread." Alex chuckled.

"Ah-ha. No offense taken...and he is quite inbread...he does have one redeeming quality, however, he is very personable." Merlin responded with a smile.

"They're so cute! I want one for a pet!" Savana gushed.

"I don't think Mariah would appreciate that and I know Mom and Dad would put out a wanted poster on both of us, if either of us brought one more pet into the family." Alex commented.

Orion seemed to add his own two cents worth by bouncing nimbly down from his perch on Merlin's shoulder and taking up a position on Baghira's head, between the feelobat's ears. Orion began to groom Baghira's ear while the feelobat purred loudly.

"Forget it, Orion. You can't bring home a pet either." Alex informed the rat.

Orion glared at Alex in disgust, but continued with his grooming regimin.

The humans all centered their attention on the sumptuous meal which had been laid out before them. The young adults had brought some food along with them on their journey,

but they were famished and appreciated the opportunity to fill their near empty bellies.

Once they were sated, they felt the entire weight of their fatigue. So, they offered no argument to Merlin and Nimue when the couple suggested they lay down and rest for a time. Merlin promised he would wake the group after they had slept for a few hours so they could complete the task which they had been ordered into the labyrinth to accomplish. He also assured them that enough time would remain for them to retrieve the Staff of Time and return with it to Stonehenge.

They all laid down upon pallets inside of Merlin and Nimue's simple hut. All of the travelers, even Alex, quickly fell into a deep, restfull slumber, almost immediately. Harry's sleep, however, was disturbed by a troublesome, dark dream.

Harry dreamt he was following a raven through a strange and distant spiritual realm. He was aware of the fact that they were searching for something important, but the object of their search, as well as their location, eluded him.

In the manner of things which typify dreams, Harry still hadn't discovered the answer to either of those questions by the time he woke up. He was simply left feeling disquieted and that there was something important he needed to remember, but couldn't.

Harry looked around himself. Ron, Hermione, and Fleur were still asleep, but Alex and Savana were gone. Harry could hear people talking outside, so he suspected they could be found there.

Harry quietly slipped outside of the hut and wandered over to the table where Merlin, Nimue, Savana and Alex sat conversing and drinking tea.

"Hello, Harry. Did you sleep well and would you like a cup of tea?" Nimue greeted him.

"Tea would be wonderful." Harry responded.

Harry wasn't sure he wanted to say anything about his disturbing dream and he didn't want to tell a lie, so he chose not to respond to the first portion of Nimue's question. He hoped it was simply a ritual type of greeting. 

Harry smiled at Orion who sat contentedly on the table between Alex and Merlin, eating a strawberry with great relish. The little fellow looke up happily with pink juice dribbling down his chin, before going back to the task at hand.

"I'm going to miss having Orion around. I've gotten rather attatched to him." Harry commented to no one in particular.

"Why did you say that? You sound as though Orion will be leaving us. Do you know something the rest of us don't know?" Alex asked as he scratched Orion behind the ears.

Orion was obviously enjoying Alex's attentions. The happy rat sat grinding his teeth with his eyes half closed and a contented look on his face.

Harry responded a little uncertainly, "Ah, no...I assumed Orion would stay here...he was Merlin's pet originally..."

Merlin smiled a little sadly as he said, "While I would enjoy Orion's company once again, his work is not yet finished and he has attached himself to this fine young man..."

Merlin was interrupted when Orion began tugging at a piece of cheese he held in his fingers.

"I will share my cheese with you, you greedy little fellow, but you may not have the entire piece." Merlin told Orion.

Merlin broke off a rat sized piece of the cheese and handed it to Orion. Orion happily gobbled up the piece of cheese, then burped and yawned. He waddled over to Alex and climbed down into Alex's pocket, where he yawned again, then rolled up into a ball and went to sleep.

"Merlin, has Orion been your pet since before Queen Mab trapped you in here?" Alex asked.

Alex had decided to give in to his desire to learn more about Orion's past and discover exactly what the little fellow was capable of doing. It seemed like Orion had a suprise for them every time they turned around. Alex had decided it would be a nice change of pace for them to actually know what Orion could do, before the rat suprised them again. They might even be able to use Orion's abilities to help them thawrt Lord Voldemort...Alex's rambling thoughts were interrupted as Merlin began to speak.

"Nimue and I found Orion a few months before Queen Mab banished us to this realm. We were out walking after a particularly viscious storm had struck our village. We found him alone in his nest, apparently abandoned. He was a very young pup, who had not yet been weaned. We knew if we did not take him in and care for him, he would not survive..."

Nimue smiled and picked up the thread of Merlin's narrative. "...I must profess to a great weakness where animals are concerned, especially those who are sick, or in need, and Orion was both. We wrapped him in a warm scrap of fleece and took him home. We needed to feed him warm goat's milk every two hours for a few weeks. It was quite difficult, but Orion did not only survive, he thrived! He became quite attatched to us and we to him..."

"It must have been hard to send him away to a place where he couldn't be with you anymore." Savana commented sympathetically.

"It was indeed difficult, but necessary." Merlin told them. "I discovered, a short time after our exile, Orion was able to leave the labyrinth. There is far more to this story than we have time for me to explain just now...suffice it to say, we discovered some extraordinary abilities in Orion which he possessed...apart from the enchantements I gave him...I realised Orion could serve as a protector for the Staff of Time, among other things. I asked Orion if he would find the arrangement agreeable and he did. Therefore, I bestowed several enchantments upon him and released him to live in the wizard world."

Nimue continued the tale as Merlin took a sip of tea to ease his thirst.

"We felt the easiest method of protecting the Staff of Time would be to have Orion become the pet of a family member in each generation of our descendants. Orion's mortality is tied to our own in a complicated manner. We did not foresee your generation moving away to the Americas. Consequently, it took him sometime to located you."

Alex chuckled and commented, "I always said it was Orion who found me, not the other way around. I never knew how close I was to the truth."

"I have been curious about something since just before we were transported to the labyrinth. Because the topics are loosely related, now appears to be as good a time as any other to bring the subject up." Harry commented pensively.

Harry proceeded to describe the scene between Lord Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and Orion, before Voldemort had ordered him, and the others, into the labyrinth to retrieve the Staff of Time. He concluded with the thought which had been weighing heavily on his mind for the past two and a half days.

"...I've confronted Lord Voldemort on a couple of previous occaisions and he has always appeared to be confident to the point of arrogance. When it came to dealing with Orion, however, Voldemort appeared to be afraid...almost...the Death Eaters were too...and I doubt any of them have a morbid fear of rats..."

Merlin let out a huge belly laugh. When he had finished, he said to Harry, "Your observation was quite perceptive, young man. Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters are afraid of my little pet, and for good reason...Orion's bite will turn any wizard into an ordinary rat for several hours. Of course, the only wizards Orion would bite are practitioners of the dark arts..."

Harry, Savana and Alex were laughing. Merlin's last bit of information had placed Voldemort's reaction to Orion in perspective for them. Few things would be less appealing to the pompus, power-hungry wizard than becoming a small, powerless animal, even if it was only temporary.

Merlin's expression changed from one of levity to one of a serious nature.

"Have you deciphered any of the spells with which I augmented the power of the Staff of Time?" He quietly asked them.

"Only the one for viewing past and future events." Harry told the aged wizard.

"Then I must explain the use of some other spells to you and it must be done quickly, for our time here is growing short." Merlin informed them.

He quickly told them how to use the staff in combination with three spells. Then Merlin quized them until he was satisfied they knew the spells, how to use them and the price of their use.

Nimue had gone to wake the others, so the group could resume their quest. As Nimue and the others approached them, Merlin sent a parting telepathic message to Harry, Savana and Alex.

__

"You will soon be face with a grave situation and you will be tempted to resolve it by using the Staff of Time. Do not succomb to that temptation. You must seek another, less obvious, path."


	24. The Staff of Time

(A/N Harry Potter and co., do not belong to me. This is really getting old, but I have to do it! If I don't want to get sued before I'm even old enough to pay taxes!)

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

_Chapter 24_

The Staff of Time

Harry successfully fought an urge to ask Merlin to clairify the warning, but Savana didn't.

"Exactly what do you mean by that?...what's going to happen and whe..." She began to ask Merlin.

"I have told you all that I am able to tell." Merlin responded wearily.

"Savana, that's enough!" Alex warned her.

It suddenly became obvious to Savana that Alex knew something about the dynamics of the situation which she did not. So, Savana let the subject drop, but decided to interrogate Alex about it later on.

Harry was just relieved the entire exchange had been telepathic. By its conclusion, the rest of the group and Nimue had joined them and Harry knew the warning had been directed specifically towards the three of them. He suspected Merlin wouldn't have appreciated the others being let in on what he had just told them.

The others quickly ate and drank some tea. While they ate, they discussed getting to the Staff of Time, retrieving it from its crystal tomb, and how to get back to Stonehenge once they had done so. 

Merlin's only response to all of these questions, however, had been that Orion knew how to get to Stonhenge and that retrieving the staff would be a relatively straight forward procedure at this point, since they had already made it through the labyrinth.

"...the labyrinth was the primary source of protection for the Staff of Time. I felt little need for more than some cursery protections around the staff, itself." Merlin explained to them.

"That makes sense." Hermione chimmed in. "We wouldn't have made it through the labyrinth without your talismans and the information you left with them..."

"We wouldn't have made it through the labyrinth without alot of luck, either!" Ron muttered.

Hermione shot Ron an irritated look before she completed what she had to say. "...it's obvious to me that you intended those things for your descendants...so they could find the staff."

Harry, who had been studying Merlin's facial expressions and manner of speech, suddenly stated, "You knew all of this would come to pass when you placed the Staff of Time here. Didn't you?...You foresaw all of this."

"While I did not foresee the details...yes, I did foresee the grand scheme of things." Merlin replied. "I have known since the time when I hid the staff in this place that it would be retrieved by someone...I tried to assure myself that someone would be a person of good character...someone who would not use the staff for their own gain."

Harry suddenly flashed back to his vision of Voldemort holding the Staff of Time. A wave of panic washed over him. He was about to say something to the others about it when Savana spoke up.

"So, you stacked the deck in your favor by leaving the information, talismans, and Orion with your descendants...pretty clever! So, now that your descendants, and their friends, are ready to get the staff, you can bring us to it." Savana said with a grin.

Alex stuck his elbow into his sister's ribs, hard. 

"OW! What did you do that for?!" Savana whined as she rubbed the sore spot on her side.

"Because, someone doesn't know when to keep her big mouth shut!" Alex responded and fixed his sister with a glare.

"Merlin and I can not approach the Staff of Time." Nimue explained quietly. "Queen Mab..."

"That's O.K....I get it...sorry." Savana interrupted.

"Merlin and Nimue have told me how to get there, however, and it's not far from here." Alex informed the others in his group.

"I must tell you one more thing before you leave this place." Merlin said. "There is only one place where the Staff of Time will truely be safe...the island of Avalon...under the protection of its guardians. Otherwise, there will always be those who seek possession of the staff for dark purposes."

Just as Harry opened his mouth to ask about his vision, Merlin's message entered his mind. _ "I have told you all that I am able...what will be, must be...and your vision can not change that...you must calm yourself and use your pre-cognition as a tool."_

Harry nodded to indicate that he understood. Then he joined the others in thanking Nimue and Merlin for their hospitality and bade them farewell. He followed Alex and the others down the trail and away from Merlin's grotto.

The sun was beginning to set as the group walked along the path through the forest. They constantly checked around, and above, them for anything that seemed dangerous. A few feelobats flew by, as well as several bats who were out hunting for their dinner, but they saw nothing dangerous on their one kilometer trek. 

Their journey ended by a small pond with a tiny, rock island which was about 75 meters offshore. The rays of the setting sun reflected off of something in the trees, not far from the island's shore.

"What's that?! It looks like glass!" Ron shouted and pointed to the reflected light.

"Perhaps it's the crystal sarcophagus the Staff of Time's encased by!" Hermione lept in excitement.

"I do believe eet ees zhe Staff of Time!" Fleur joined in with Hermione's excitement.

"Before we get too excited here, boys and girls, I think we had better confirm we've actually found the Staff of Time. We can't afford to waste any time chasing ghosts. We are due at Stonehenge soon." Alex cautioned them.

"I smell a reconnaissance mission and I hereby volunteer, sir!" Savana volunteered.

Savana settled herself and focused on the source of the glint of sunlight eminating from the island.

When she opened her eyes, Savana found herself standing in front of a large mound of transparent rock. Savana squinted to see inside of the rock and saw a one and a half meter form inside. It was the Staff of Time!

"Woohoo!" Savana yipped as she confirmed the object of their quest.

Savana immediately went back to inform the others of their success.

"That's it...the Staff of Time!" Savana crowed to the others when she opened her eyes. "Let's go get it!"

"'ow do we get zhere? Ees zhere a boat?..." Fleur asked and visually searched the shoreline for any such impliment.

"Perhaps the water is shallow enough to wade across to the island." Hermione suggested. 

"And eef eet ees deeper?" Fleur's question and its implication hung in the air.

"Then we just go for a little swim." Savana said with a shrug.

Fleur's face was ashen as she told them, "I do not wish to swim...especially eef I can not use magic to 'elp me...eet frightens me..."

"It's because of what happened during the Tri-wizard Tournement,1 isn't it?" Harry murmured.

Fleur nodded miserably and re-itinerated the entire episode to everyone else.

"O.K., so one of us can go over and bring the staff back here...or, maybe we can just wade over..." Ron thought outloud.

"I think wading is out of the question." Alex told them.

He dropped a rock in the water near shore and they watched it sink and disappear into the murkey depths.

"Time to go to plan B." Alex said with an impish grin on his face.

Savana saw the look on her brother's face and tryed to make a run for it.

"Oh, no you don't!" Alex cried as he picked up his sister and threw her into the pond.

"AAALLEEEXX! You are a dead man! I'm telling mom and dad when we get home!" Savana spouted as soon as her head broke the water's surface.

Her robes floated on the pond's surface, but they could tell from her arm motions and the way she bobbed on the surface, that Savana was treading water. Consequently, they were able to conclude the pond water was deep enough that Savana couldn't stand on the bottom. Savana ran a hand over her head and flung some partially decayed weeds, which had been caught on her hair, into the water.

"This water is freezing! I'm getting out!" Savana shouted at Alex.

"Not until you've swum over to the island, you won't!" Alex warned her.

Then he added, in a wheedling tone, "I'll give you an almond cookie if you do it." 

"Get going, Savana! The swim will warm you up!" Ron coxed her.

"You owe me a dozen almond cookies from my favorite Chinese bakery, or I'll hurt you in ways you've never imagined!" Savana threatened her brother as she swam off toward the island.

A few minutes later, Savana crawled up onto the island's shoreline. She considered stripping off her sopping, soiled robes, but decided against it when she realised how cold she still was. Instead, she wrung as much of the water out of them as she could. Then she began to make her way toward the staff.

"Savana! Don't touch the crystal case! It will kill you!" Harry shouted at her retreating back.

Savana gave no indication that she had heard him, so Harry decided to send the message telepathically.

_"Savana! Don't touch the crystal case! It will kill you!"_ He repeated.

_"Then how am I supposed to get the staff out?!" _She threw back at Harry.

_"I'll get back to you on that." _ Harry thought back.

Savana continued on toward the staff, but froze when she was right in front of it. She had heard the scream of a drake and it was right over her head!

...`~*~`...

"It's about time!" Severus Snape thought darkly.

Lucious Malfoy had just told him that Lord Voldemort expected the Death Eaters to assemble near the center of Stonehenge. 

Severus chuckled to himself as he followed Lucious to the assembly. The man's eyes still had a redish hue and his nose still twitched.

_"I guess the rumors were true." _Severus thought.

A sardonic half smile formed on his face.

Severus and Albus Dumbledore had discussed the necessity of stopping Lord Voldemort from succeeding in gaining control of the Staff of Time, before Severus had left for this place. Therefore Severus had put the time he spent waiting into creating several scenarios that would achieve that goal. After mentally reviewing several of these scenarios, however, Severus had come to the conclusion that they wouldn't work. In every case, Severus would be exposed for the spy he was, be killed, or both. Worse yet, other nasty reprecussions came to mind that would make death look good. The fate of Neville Longbottom's parents at the hands of his master,2 stood out starkley in his mind.

There was always a slim hope that Potter and the Walkers wouldn't succeed in finding, or retrieving the staff, but that would have its own set of reprecussions. One consequence of that scenario would undoubtly be the death of all of the Walkers, including Christina. Therein lay Severus's conundrum. He couldn't bear the thought of loosing her, now that he had finally found her again.

Severus sighed and thought,_ "Perhaps I should hope that Potter's incredible luck will once again rescue him...and all of us along with him."_

Only one thing was clear...under no circumstances could Lord Voldemort be allowed to possess the Staff of Time.

...`~*~`...

Draco Malfoy sat in the Great Hall and moodily poked at the food sitting on his plate. The dinner hour was fairly well over and he was thankful that most of the students had already gone.

Crabbe and Goyle had tired of Draco's pensive mood and had left him to his thoughts. They couldn't understand Draco's behavior, nor did they have any desire to do so.

Draco had been feeling a sense of dread since Savana had disappeared and it had grown in exponential proportions when Professor Snape had not been there for potions class today. Professor Dumbledore had told them Professor Snape would be gone on 'Ministry business' until further notice.

Draco had heard the rumors around the school...some of them were ridiculous...like the rumor that Professor Snape had run off to marry some long lost love...others were more disturbing, perhaps because they could be true...like the rumor that Professor Snape was secretly a Death Eater and He-who-must-not-be-named had demanded their presence because The Dark Lord was poised to preform a major coup which would make him all powerfull.

Draco had overheard snippets of conversation and comments, from his parents and their friends, while he was home over the Christmas holiday, which led him to believe the latter was close to the truth. He also suspected Savana and her associates were in the thick of things and on the loosing side. While Draco didn't care a whit about what happened to Potter, his friends, and Alex (whom he had just discovered was Savana's brother)...he did care about Savana and what happened to her...but he had no idea as to what he could do to ensure her safety.

Draco cursed the day he had met Savana Walker. His life had been fine before her presence had made Draco begin to question the direction in which his life was headed. 

Suddenly, he had a thought...his parents had mentioned something about Merlin's mage staff and the Walker family being related to Merlin...

_"...what did they call that staff?!"_ Draco thought as he searched his memory.

The name of the staff had sounded rather ridiculous to him at the time, _"...what did they call it?!"_ Then it came to him, _"It was the Staff of Time!"_

Draco got up immediately and made a bee-line toward the library. He had to find, and read, everything he could find on the Staff of Time. Then he remembered that Professor Binns had spent quite a bit of class time rambling on about Merlin and some staff.

_"Why didn't I pay attention?!" _Draco mentally chastised himself.

He promised himself that in the future, he would pay close attention in class...even when he wasn't particularly interested. He never wanted to be in his current position of ignorance again!

...`~*~`...

Savana made a desperate dive for cover as the drake dove at her. She ended up under a dense, thorny bush which tore at her hair, skin and robes. 

Apparently the drake didn't think anymore of Savana's cover than she did, because after its first pass, it flew off. 

Savana crawled out from under the bush and contemplated the crystal formation in front of her. She had to figure out how to get the staff out of there!

Savana heard a commotion from the shore where the others were waiting and looked to see what was causing it. The drake was attacking the rest of the group!

Alex and the others heard the drake's attack on Savana and saw it turn its attention toward them. Alex was relieved that the drake's attack on Savana had obviously failed. But now, he and the others had the same problem Savana had a few moments ago!

Ron shouted at them, "Jump into the pond and stay under as long as you can!"

The rest of the group followed Ron's directions as quickly as possible.

Harry inhaled sharply, quite against his will, as he hit the water. It was freezing! His skin burned with the cold and he fought an urge to scream. He looked up toward the sky from under the water. He could no longer see the drake...

...but Savana could! She watched in horror as the drake returned its attentions to her!

Savana began to run the short distance back to her bush, but she tripped on something and fell. Savana threw her hands out, to break her fall. The Staff of Time's crystal case was in her way, however, and she fell into it! 

Savana was amazed when her hand passed through the crystal, like it was a mirage, and grasped the Staff of Time! Without thinking, she simply pulled the staff from its crystal tomb. She wanted to study the artifact, but there was still the threat of the drake attack to consider.

_"Where did that thing go?!" _Savana wondered as she searched the sky for the drake.

She found the answer in her surroundings. Everything except the rocky island on which she stood was fading...including the pond and the drake. The Phantom Forest was disappearing once again, and with it, the danger posed by the drake.

Harry and the others were scrambling toward Savana through the rocks, but stopped and stared in amazement when they saw what Savana held in her hands.

"You've got the Staff of Time!...How?..." The question popped out of Harry's mouth before he could stop it.

Savana smiled and told them all of what had happened before their arrival. "I'm still suprised I wasn't killed when I touched the case."

"I'm not." Hermione said flatly. "Remember the poem?"

The others were clueless. So, Hermione quoted the poem to them, so as to refresh their memories.

_"...Touch it not! If life you hold dear._

For only my kin, and those of Morgain LeFey, 

May from its tomb take it, 

Or their life energy, they pay."

"I thought it was Fleur who had the photographic memory." Ron teased.

"It's burned into my brain from going over it so often." Hermione responded. "The point is, Savana is related to Merlin...she's his kin. The only people among us who could have removed the staff, without being killed, are Alex and Savana." Hermione responded.

"Ron, 'ow did you know we'd be safe een zhe water?" Fleur asked, changing the subject.

She had been curious about that since she had overcome her fears and jumped into the pond.

"Drakes can't manouever under water. They'd drown and they know it." Ron replied.

Hermione looked at Alex, who was trying to dry Orion. Orion sneezed, but didn't look much the worse for the swim they'd just taken.

"I'd ask how you prevented Orion from drowning, but we all know his magic still works down here." Hermione commented.

Alex grinned, then shut his eyes as Orion gave him a bit of a shower. Orion shook himself, like a dog shaking itself dry. Then he began to groom himself, since, compared to the humans at least, he was relatively dry.

They took a minute to look over the Staff of Time. The top piece was similar to the drawing they had seen in the book; a gold filigree piece with a ruby and onyx clock face. The staff itself, however, was made of dark, polished wood instead of the gold shown in the illustrations.

"This is all quite interesting, but we're almost out of time." Ron reminded them as he pointed to the western horizon. 

The sun had just sunk below it.

"Merlin said Orion knew how to get us to Stonehenge." Alex reminded them. "Orion, do your stuff." Alex commanded the rat.

But Orion simply sat there. He stared at Savana and the Staff of Time.

"I think he wants you to hand the staff to me." Alex told Savana.

Savana made a _'hurrumph'_ noise in her throat and handed the staff to her brother.

Alex grasped the staff with his left hand and set Orion on the ground next to the staff. In his teeth, Orion held the gold piece he had used to get them down into the labyrinth. Once he was on the ground, Orion repeated the actions he had taken when he had first transported them.

They were again enveloped in the bright, blue light. When the glow faded, they found themselves standing in the middle of a ring, made up of enormous, gray, rock slabs. It was Stonehenge.

Orion climbed up Alex's leg and jumped into his pocket before the light had even faded. He huddled inside the pocket and trembled a little.

_"I wish I could hide in there with you, Orion." _Alex thought. _"I've got a bad feeling about this entire situation...really bad."_

Harry was moderately successfull in fighting a wave of nausea, which swept over him as a result of the pain coming from the scar on his forehead. He knew Lord Voldemort was already present here.

As their eyes adjusted to the deep dusk light, Alex and the others were able to make out a large circle of ghostly figures surrounding them. A particularly tall, skeletal, dark form separated itself from the rest of the Death Eaters and stepped forward, accompanied by a Death Eater with a shining silver hand.

Peter spoke first, in a sarcastic tone of voice. "Well, well...our happy, little warriors have returned to us, victorious!"

"...and in one piece...may I add...no thanks to you!" Savana muttered.

"This impertinant brat doesn't learn very quickly, does she?! She still shows no respect for her superiors!" Growled Lord Voldemort.

"Whatever should we do about her?!" Peter added in a high pitch of mock dismay. "Perhaps she needs to be taught a lesson in respect...by our lord and master?"

Savana wished she had held her tongue. _"Me and my big mouth!"_ She thought.

_"Crucio!"_ Lord Voldemort intoned as he pointed his wand at Savana.

Savana immediately felt pain like she had never felt before. She felt like she was on fire from the inside out. Her muscles felt as though they would explode and white hot light was shooting out of her eye sockets. Savana fell to the ground and writhed in excruciating pain.

"Savana!" Alex, Harry and Ron cried in unison.

"Stop!" Cried Fleur and Hermione.

Appearently Lord Voldemort felt he had made his point, because he lowered his wand and released Savana from the spell.

Alex, Harry, Fleur, Hermione and Ron's faces all darkened with impotent rage. They would have loved to return the favor to Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters, but they were well aware that giving in to their base desires would only serve to make them as dark as their tormentors.

Lord Voldemort turned his attention to the staff Alex held by his side.

"Bring me the Staff of Time." The Dark Lord commanded.

Alex knew, before he even formed the thought in his head, that he would regret his response. "You promised to release my aunt and parents..."

The rictus that passed as Lord Voldemort's face parted in what may have passed as a smile, at least in his world. Alex felt a chill of foreboding.

"I made no such promise...I merely told you what their fate would be if you did not fufill your end of the bargain...you assumed the rest. Now, bring me the staff!" Commanded the Dark Lord.

_"NO!!" _Alex shouted mentally.

Alex, as well as the rest of the group, felt cheated and betrayed.

_"Imperio!"_ The Dark Lord commanded.

Alex didn't move. So, Lord Voldemort repeated the command in a more threatening tone of voice.

Alex felt compelled to move forward toward Lord Voldemort, but still, he resisted the spell. The Dark Lord focused on Alex exclusively and Alex knew he had no other choice except to do as he was ordered. Alex moved slowly toward The Dark Lord, methodically putting one foot in front of the other. Alex felt like a zombie as he saw himself hand the Staff of Time to the Dark Lord. 

Lord Voldemort grasped the staff and behaved as though he were simply recieving his due, instead of an instrument of great power which he had coveted for years.

Alex wanted to walk back to his friends, but found himself literally rooted to the spot.

Harry, Fleur, Hermione, Ron and Savana all tried to rush forward in a desperate attempt to repossess the Staff of Time. They, too, found themselves unable to move from the places where they stood. Someone had cast an imobility spell on them, but who? It was impossible to tell because the Death Eaters faces' were covered by masks.

"I have one more task for you to preform before I finish with you." Lord Voldemort continued unpleasantly. "Give that filthy, little rodent to me."

"Why? Orion is no threat to you...and anyway...he's Merlin's pet...and Merlin kept him...They're quite attatched to each other." Alex responded innocently.

Tense silence reigned for a moment. What Lord Voldemort didn't know was that Alex was buying time for Orion to escape. Alex could feel The Dark Lord trying to probe his mind. To cover his real plan, Alex began to softly sing, _'The Hokey Pokey.'_ The act of singing the song was a tactic designed to make reading his mind more difficult.

The attention of the Death Eaters was collectively focused on the drama before them. No one noticed Alex nonchalantly slip his hands into his jacket pocket, allowing Orion to run up the inside of Alex's sleeve, then down his back to the jacket's bottom edge. Then Orion dropped silently to the ground and rolled in some nearby mud. This effectively camoflaged the rat's white fur and blue spots. Orion now blended in with the dirt and the darkness. Consequently, he went unnoticed as he scuttled toward Lord Voldemort and hid under the edge of his robes.

Lord Voldemort knew Alex was lying to him. He knew Orion posed a threat to him. He also realised Merlin wouldn't have kept the rat because it was necessary for the return trip to this realm from Merlin's.

"LIAR!" Lord Voldemort thundered.

Alex's heard began to pound and his eyes widened in sheer terror as The Dark Lord pointed his wand at Alex.

"I will deal with both of you at the same time! _Avada Kedvra!_" Lord Voldemort intoned.

A blinding green light sprang from the wand's tip and struck Alex, then surrounded him. Alex collapsed like a scarecrow, suddenly removed from its support post.

Harry's head felt as though it would blow to pieces from the renewed pain in his scar. He dropped to all fours and vomited repeatedly. He was vaguely aware of someone screaming. Then, as the pain began to recede, Harry opened his burning eyelids. He was fearfull of the scene which would greet him.

Harry saw Alex's crumpled form on the ground before Lord Voldemort. He couldn't see Alex's face clearly, but there was no doubt in his mind...Alex Burke-Walker was dead...killed by The Dark Lord, Voldemort.

1. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE; During the second challenge, Fleur

was attacked by grindylows and wasn't able to rescue her sister from the Merpeople in the lake.

2. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE; Frank Longbottom, Neville's father, 

was a popular auror. Some Death Eaters tortured him and his wife to discover the where abouts of

Voldemort after his fall from power. Both of the Longbottoms went insane because of this and have

spent the intervening years at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.


	25. Crossing Dimensions

(A/N This is the last time I'm going to have to do this. So enjoy! Harry Potter and co., do not belong to me, (I can dream though!) they belong to J.K. Rowling. Ok, that's it. I'm done!)

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

__

Chapter 25

Crossing Dimensions

Harry felt the world spinning out of control around him. He retched again and fought to regain some semblance of self control. Slowly, his surroundings began to come back into focus. Harry was aware of Savana wailing and screaming. Then, as he became more attuned to his environment, Harry became aware of a pregnant silence from the others surrounding him, and Ron's hands on his shoulders.

"Harry! You've got to get up! Voldemort's going to use the Staff of Time and that can't be good!" Ron whispered urgently.

"I can't do anything without Savana's help...where is she?" Harry asked as he stood up on his unsteady legs.

Then he saw her. Savana was curled up in a miserable ball on the ground, a short distance away from where Ron and he now stood. Fleur and Hermione were attempting to console Savana, but she was resisting their efforts.

A low, keening moan issued from Savana's lips. It increased when Lord Voldemort callously told Peter to remove the body from his sight.

Harry and Ron closed the short distance between the two groups. They added their condolences about Alex, but urged Savana to get herself together long enough to attempt to stop Lord Voldemort from using the Staff of Time.

"That satanic sycophant killed my brother!" Savana hissed with fury in her voice. "Right now, I'd do anything to get back at him...let's get that staff back...so we can make things right."

Harry suddenly flashed back to Merlin's warning to the three of them when Alex was still alive: _"You will soon be faced with a grave situation and you will be tempted to resolve it by using the Staff of Time. Do not succumb to that temptation. You must seek another, less obvious path."_

Harry now knew Merlin was warning them not to use the staff to travel back in time and change what had happened to Alex. However, Merlin had also given them hope; he had hinted there was another way...Harry decided not to confront Savana with any of that just now...

_"...she's too emotionally raw...she needs me to enact any spell with the staff because she isn't a seer...and...we don't have the Staff of Time..." _

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a crackling sound as the Dark Lord activated the Staff of Time. White light sprang from the bottom and the top of the staff. The light spread along the ground until it formed a rough circle which encompassed Lord Voldemort, Fleur, and the group of students. The light eminating from the top of the staff formed a dome over them and eventually melded with the light on the ground. It formed a sheild which cut them off from the Death Eaters and the rest of the world.

Once the bubble had completely formed, the color of the light began to shift to blue, green, gold and pink. It formed varying, shimmering, gossimer bands of color.

_"This must be what it's like to be inside the Aurora Borealis!"_ Hermione speculated with no small amount of wonder.

Her attention was diverted by Lord Voldemort's sudden, angry shriek. "Bite me will you?! You bloody, little muppet!!!"1

The Dark Lord pointed his wand at a small, dark form which was bolting across the ground toward Harry.

_"AVAda...kedv....squeek!...squeek!"_

Both the wand and the Staff of Time fell to the ground as Lord Voldemort rapidly transformed into a scraggley, black rat, with a white face and blood red eyes.

Harry recognised the small, dark form that was fleeing from Lord Voldemort, as it approached him. A mud encrusted Orion ran up to him. Harry picked the little fellow up and placed Orion on his shoulder. 

While Harry was thus occupied, Ron had sprinted over to the Staff of Time, grabbed it, and brought it back to Savana and Harry. (Thankfully, the staff had continued to generate the shield when Lord Voldemort had dropped it.)

Ron would have liked to have grabbed Lord Voldemort's wand when he retrieved the staff, but the Volderat had stood guard over it. The Volderat had roughed up his course, moth eaten, fur, stood up on his hind legs, and made a nasty chittering sound. Ron had wisely backed off. Even as an ordinary rat, Voldemort presented a threat. Ron had no doubt about the ability of that rat to inflict a painful, damaging bite.

_"...still, it would have been nice to inflict a bit of pain on old red eye with his own wand...what a lovely bit of poetic justice that would have been." _Ron thought.

Ron handed Harry the Staff of Time and said, "I hope you know how to use this! Otherwise, we're done for!"

Harry nodded, then addressed Savana. "I know this is difficult for you...but we all need you to help me...here and now!" 

Savana sniffed and nodded. She stood, and with tears still streaming down her face, placed her hands on the Staff of Time along with Harry's.

"This is payback for what you did to my brother!" Savana choked out as they pointed the top of the staff at the Volderat.

Voldemort attempted to attack Harry and Savana, then run, but he found he couldn't do either.

The Volderat glared spitefully at Fleur and Hermione. They had their wands pointed at him and were using the _Imobelous_ spell to prevent him from moving. He was a helpless target for whatever spell it was that Harry and Savana were going to cast, using the Staff of Time.

A few seconds later, Lord Voldemort knew what spell Harry and Savana were using. His sharp, rat enhanced hearing picked up the words Harry and Savana were chanting in unison.

_"...ad tempus infinitum, Lord Voldemort,..."_

"Merlin must have taught those whelps the Spell of Timeless Imprisonment...I'll be trapped in a dimension without time! NO!!! I was going to use that spell on them...and Dumbledore!...curse the day Queen Mab created Merlin!" Lord Voldemort thought, just as a beam of violet light sprang from the staff and engulfed him.

Harry, Savana, Ron, Fleur and Hermione, all watched in amazement as a cloud of violet light surrounded the Volderat, who was turning back into his human form. Then both Lord Voldemort and the cloud disappeared. 

Harry and Savana had felt the Staff of Time draining their life energy as they preformed the spell. Merlin had warned them that the loss of a portion of their life energy was the price they would pay for using a spell this powerful.

Once the cloud containing the Dark Lord had disappeared, Harry and Savana collapsed and the staff stopped generating the light shield. Ron, Fleur, and Hermione were concerned they would be overpowered by the Death Eaters once the shield dropped. They were suprised when they saw none of Lord Voldemort's followers in the area.

Ron rushed forward and grabbed the Staff of Time, while Hermione and Fleur checked on Harry and Savana.

"Zhey are alive, but unconscious. We must get zhem 'elp." Fleur told Ron.

"How do we get them help...and where are the Death Eaters?" Ron asked in confusion.

Ron's back stiffened when he heard Professor Snape's familiar, and unwelcome, voice respond to his second question.

"They saw what happened to their master and they fled before anyone could identify them."

Severus did not add the fact that he had gotten rid of his Death Eater costume during the confusion following Lord Voldemort's entrapment. At the moment, he didn't need to continue with the charade of being a Death Eater and it could work against him to do so.

"Why are you 'ere?" Fleur asked the question that was on Ron and Hermione's minds as well.

They were simply afraid to ask it.

"I am here at the request of Professor Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic." Severus replied smoothly.

They were interrupted by women screaming and crying. They didn't need to see who it was...they knew someone had reversed the stasis spell on the adult Walkers...and they had just found Alex's body.

Ron did look, however, because he heard an enemy still in their midst. Raven was speaking with Gavin Walker and his voice reached Ron's ears.

"What is that guy doing here?! He's one of Lord Voldemort's top henchmen!" Ron sputtered in anger and fear.

Severus decided to explain the situation before Ron managed to further complicate matters. "Raven was working undercover for Chief Minnehaha and the American Bureau of Magic. He was here to find out what Lord Voldemort was doing and to protect the Walkers."

"He didn't do a very good job of it..." Ron grumbled.

This remark earned Ron a sharp look from Severus. It was not followed by a rebuke or a snide remark, however, so Ron considered himself fortunate.

Severus continued, as though Ron hadn't made any comment. "I will now inform Raven that you understand his purpose here. Then we shall all return to Hogwarts, where we will do what must be done."

Then Severus walked over to the adults, who still surrounded Alex's body, and Ron went back to tell Hermione and Fleur they would be leaving soon. Ron also told the girls about Raven. They looked in the direction of the adults and were shocked to see Christina throw her arms around Professor Snape and hug the stuffing out of him!

"Please, tell me I'm hallucinating!" Ron snickered.

"If you are, it's a group hallucination! I wish we could see Professor Snape's face." Hermione replied.

"Professors do 'ave private lives and this should be kept private." Fleur admonished them.

"But this is so-o-o very good!" Ron whined. "Maybe we could use it to make Professor Snape treat us better."

"He'll make us think we've died and gone to hell, if I know Professor Snape." Hermione told Ron. "Do us all a favor and forget you saw that, Ron. Fleur is right."

Ron sighed in disappointment and waited until the adults reached them. Gavin was stoically carrying his son's body. Raven picked up Harry and Ron handed the Staff of Time to Christina, then picked up Savana.

Fiona removed something from her robe and set it on the ground in the middle of the group. It was an amber amulet with a dragonfly preserved inside of it. Then she chanted a short incantation in which the only recogniseable words were: _Hogwarts _and _tempus fugit._2 The last thing Fiona did was to sprinkle a bit of pixie dust over the amulet.

There was a flash of multi-colored light and they were standing in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Ron, Gavin, and Raven gently set their burdens onto beds while Madam Pomfrey hurried toward them. 

She shooed Ron and Hermione into the next room and told them to stay put until she called for them.

"Wow, I could get used to traveling like that!" Ron told Hermione with a grin.

"I wouldn't even think about it, if I were you." Hermione replied.

"Why ever not? Didn't it give you a rush?" Ron asked.

"Because it's the wizard equivalant of using a Concord jet as an ambulance. Quick, but very expensive." Hermione responded haughtily.

"Oh." Ron looked a bit crestfallen. "Well, as long as we have to stay in here and wait anyway, I'm going to try and catch up on some sleep."

"That's a good idea. I think I'll do that too." Hermione replied with a yawn.

They stretched out on two of the beds in the room and fell asleep as soon as they laid down.

...`~*~`...

Harry drifted toward consciousness. He was in a state which was neither awake nor asleep. Neither grounded in reality, nor the world of dreams. 

He heard Professor Dumbledore in discussion with two other men...Gavin Walker...and...Raven?! Harry realised this must be a dream, since it was unlikely these three wizards would ever meet in the real world.

Harry tried to open his eyes. They wouldn't respond to his command, however, they were too heavy...more evidence that he was dreaming. Portions of the discussion between the three wizards drifted through Harry's consciousness;

"...you can't use the staff to go back in time and save Alex!" Professor Dumbledore was telling someone, most likely Gavin.

Raven said, "Just using the spell to trap Lord Voldemort nearly killed both of those kids...the only reason they're going to recover is due to Severus's potion...the spell you're talking about requires even more energy."

"I can't do anything about Alex, right now anyway." Gavin replied in a strained voice. "Those two kids are the only people I know of who are able to use the staff and they're..."

"What is that rat doing?!" Raven interrupted.

"He appears to be retrieving something from that jacket pocket." Professor Dumbledore observed mildly. "May I help you with that, Orion?"

"Isn't that the jacket Alex was wearing when he was..._gulp_...killed?" Gavin asked with a hiccough.

Harry heard no response. The next sound he heard was a gasp from Professor Dumbledore. 

Then Professor Dumbledore said, "This is the Stone of Morpheous! It is a very powerfull talisman against the dark arts. If Alex had this in his possession when Lord Voldemort cast that spell on him, he may not be lost to us."

"He still looks dead to me." Gavin said sadly.

"Alex would appear to be dead, but this stone would protect a spark of life which could be re-kindled." Professor Dumbledore explained.

"I still think the Staff o...." Gavin began to say.

But, Harry couldn't hear the rest of what Gavin was saying, because Merlin had appeared to him and whispered something in Harry's ear.

"Merlin said, we must seek a different path." Harry said thickly.

Then Harry sank deep into a state of unconsciousness and said no more.

"What did the boy say?!" Gavin asked anxiously.

Professor Dumbledore repeated the phrase.

"I suppose he means we shouldn't use the Staff of Time, by that. What else can we do?" Gavin asked.

"I believe I may be able to answer that." Raven told them. "This may seem kind of off the wall...and the idea only occured to me after Albus found the Stone of Morpheous...the boy's comments convinced me to at least suggest this solution to you...I may be able to cross the boundry between this world and the spirit realm to retrieve Alex's spirit."

"You're right. It sounds like so much mumbo jumbo to me." Gavin replied with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Professor Dumbledore, however, looked thoughtful and cautioned Gavin, "I believe we should listen to what this man has to say. There is precident in his suggestion. It is not merely fantasy or legend."

Gavin appeared unconvinced, so Raven decided to explain his proposal in a little more detail.

"I am not called Raven because of my ability to turn into one. I was given the name when I was a boy, because my people believe I am touched by the spirit of Raven."

"This is all very nice, but..." Gavin began to say.

"My point..." Raven interrupted. "...is that my people believe Raven is able to transcend the barrier between the world of mortals and that of the spirits. I have been endowed with that gift. I would like to try to bring Alex's spirit back to his body and this world. If that meets with your approval?"

Gavin mulled over this new bit of information for a few minutes. Then he asked, "Have you ever done this before?"

Raven nodded his head in the affirmative. "Three times, and all were successfull."

Raven didn't add that Chief Minnehaha had suspected a situation like the one with Alex would arise. The chief had told the Bureau it was important to assign this task to Raven. 

_"I wonder how the chief knew Alex would be protected from the worst effects of the curse by that talisman?" _Raven thought.

The only person who could answer that question, however, was Chief Minnehaha himself. Raven knew he would never reveal that information to him, or to anyone.

"What do you think we should do?" Gavin was addressing Professor Dumbledore.

"I suspect this is the _'different path'_ Merlin spoke of." Professor Dumbledore replied with a sage nod of his head.

"Let's do it then." Gavin agreed with a sigh of exhaustion.

Raven nodded and rubbed his hands together. "All right then. Let's get this show on the road. Time is of the essence. I'll need to gather a few things for the ceremony and I'll need you to move Alex to a private room. Only Alex and I may be present during the ceremony. Otherwise, there could be...complications."

"I had hoped to remain with my son..." Gavin began to protest, but Albus interrupted him.

"You can accomplish nothing by doing so, and you are exhausted. You should go with the others and rest."

"But what about Harry and Savana?...someone should be there with them when they awaken..." Gavin continued to protest.

"Severus has assured me that it will be quite some time before they have recovered enough to awaken..." Albus began to assure Gavin.

"But wouldn't Madam Pomfrey be more qualified to make that decision? Severus is only the potions master, after all and..."

Raven, who was beginning to feel pressed for time, decided to re-assure Gavin. So he could ready Alex and himself for the ceremony. 

"Please, Gavin, Severus is an expert in such matters and has dealt with a similar situation once before." 

Raven hoped Gavin wouldn't demand any proof, or particulars, since he had fabricated this last bit of information in order to facilitate Gavin's departure. 

Gavin's shoulders slumped and he agreed he could use a rest.

"There's a good fellow." Albus murmured as he escorted Gavin out of the room.

Raven quickly contacted Severus to arrange for the few ceremonial items he needed that he wasn't carrying with him. Then he notified Madam Pomfrey to arrange for a room and to transfer Alex to it. Last, Raven began to prepare himself for what he knew would be an arduous and draining spiritual journey. 

Raven settled himself next to Alex within the sacred circle he had circumscribed in the small isolation room Madam Pomfrey had assigned to them. He burned some sacred herbs and preformed rites of the ritual, while he chanted to the spirits. All of these actions allowed Raven to enter a trance-like state which enabled him to communicate with the spirits. 

Raven felt himself leave his body behind as he reached the deepest level of the trance. He moved into an area of rosey light. There, Raven felt a part of, and surrounded by, love, joy, and peace. 

The figure of an elderly Native American man coalesed in front of Raven. It was his great-great grandfather, Morning Star, an important Navaho shaman.

"It is good to see you, my grandson." Morning Star greeted Raven.

"Grandfather, I am honored by your presence. The spirits have told me you will guide me to the man I seek, Alex Burke-Walker." Raven replied.

"I will bring you the man you seek. He has not yet crossed the threshold. He can still return to your world." Morning Star said.

Morning Star dissolved into the light and returned almost immediately with a confused looking Alex Walker.

"What is going on?!" Alex asked. "One minute I'm in a stand-off with the king of evil...the next, I'm a human nebula here in la-la land...what gives?...And what are you doing here?!" This last question dripped with suspicion.

"Please, excuse him, grandfather. He is as irreverent as he has always been." Raven muttered.

"Raven is my grandson and he is here to guide you back from this world to the world of the flesh." Morning Star informed Alex. "All of your questions will be answered in time. For the moment, however, you must place your trust in Raven, or he will not be able to complete the journey."

Alex began to protest. "But, he worked with..."

"Place your trust in Raven." Morning Star re-itinerated in parting.

Then he disappeared back into the misty pink light.

"Alex, I know this is difficult for you, but if you want to go back to your life and the people you love...you must trust me to guide you there. I am your only hope." Raven told Alex somberly.

Alex took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled and nodded his head. "I'll give it all I've got." He promised.

"Then take my hand and hold onto it, tightly." Raven instructed Alex. 

Alex did as Raven had instructed and immediately found himself being pulled back through a vortex.

_"This is alot like using a portkey." _Alex thought.

Alex opened his eyes and looked around the small room. His gaze stopped and fixed on Raven.

"I feel like I've been trampled by a herd of unicorns." Alex muttered thickly. "You promised to explain all of this to me...I'm listening."

Raven explained all that had happened to Alex since Lord Voldemort had leveled the curse on him, including the reason Raven had been with the Death Eaters. Raven made a point of congratulating Alex for having the foresight to carry the Stone of Morpheous with him.

"...without that talisman, there would not have been anything to bring back." Raven concluded. "Lord Voldemort would have succeeded with his plan."

"I wish I could take the credit for that, but I didn't bring the stone. I know who did put it in my pocket though, and I need to thank him as soon as I'm able to." Alex replied.

His voice was still thick with fatigue. Alex gave into his overwhelming need to sleep.

Raven cleaned up the ceremonial sight. Then, as he watched the dawn break through the window, Raven decided to tell Professor Dumbledore of his successfull quest and let him decide when to tell the others.

...`~*~`...

Alex, Harry, Fleur, Savana, Hermione, and Ron were still asleep when the sun set that evening. 

Professor Dumbledore had told the adults, who had awakened in the late afternoon, the good news about Alex. Then he had assured them that the young people were safe and would probably sleep for quite awhile longer.

"...they went for several days without much sleep. Madam Pomfrey believes they are simply catching up on their rest." Professor Dumbledore explained. "We could wake them up, if you feel you must speak to them immediately."

Fiona pulled a chair up next to Alex's bed and lovingly smoothed his hair back from his face. Alex shifted slightly in his sleep, but allowed his mother to continue. Fiona thrilled to the sweet, warm feeling of life flowing through her son once again.

"No. Thankyou for offering, though. We don't want to disturb them." Fiona responded. "Raven, how can we ever thank you?"

Fiona knew there was no way they would ever be able to repay Raven for what he had done. The question had been largely rhetorical, so she was suprised when Raven responded to it.

"You may thank me by helping someone else who needs your aide...pass it on, so to speak...of course, whether or not you choose to do so is entirely up to you...you are not beholden to me."

"What a lovely concept!" Christina gushed. "I do believe I'm going to give it a go myself."

Madam Pomfrey appeared at the door. Her bearing indicated her disapproval of the amount of activity in the room.

Professor Dumbledore noticed her stern expression and decided it was time for the adults to go elsewhere. 

"Perhaps we should adjourn to my office for tea." He suggested.

The others agreed, with the exception of Fiona.

"I'd prefer to stay here and savore the moment. If that's all right." She said with a small smile. "I know Alex is out of danger, but I also know he'll be off on another adventure as soon as he is able."

Professor Dumbledore nodded in understanding. He then bowed slightly at the waist in respect, and left with the others.

...`~*~`...

Harry swam back to the world through swirling mists of dreams. Once he had opened his eyes, Harry tried to make sense of the dreams he had been having over the past couple of days. He couldn't decide what had been a dream, and what had really happened.

__

"Did we really trap Lord Voldemort, and did he really kill Alex?" Harry wondered in confusion.

Harry decided he needed a drink of water. His mouth tasted like he had been sucking on a pair of sweat socks that hadn't been washed in months! Harry reached over to the table next to him and found a glass of water, which he gulped down, as well as his glasses.

Harry put on his glasses and was suprised to find himself in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. He was frusterated to find that, no matter how much he sifted through his memories, he couldn't remember how he had come to be here.

"How did I get here?!" Harry said softly, as he searched his memory once more.

"If you find out, be sure to tell me. Because I don't know how I got here either." Replied a slightly sarcastic, feminine voice.

Harry recognised the voice as Savana's. He turned toward the sound of her voice and gave Savana a half-hearted wave.

"Well, you've answered one of my questions at least." Savana responded with a smile.

"But...I haven't answered any..." Harry stuttered.

"You couldn't have sent me these flowers, not if you were in here with me. Question answered." Savana replied with a grin. "Unfortunately, I still don't know who sent them. If it weren't for the roses, this bouquet would be the same as the one I got last winter. I wonder if it was sent by the same person?"

"If it was...sent by the same person, that is...I hope it dosen't contain any warnings...like the last one did. Oh, I forgot...you weren't awake for that...Alex found the note..." Harry had begun to muse a bit, so he didn't immediately notice the effect of his words on Savana.

Savana's eyes welled up with tears and she felt sick to her stomach due to Harry's casual mention of her dead brother.

"I miss him so much! I thought I'd feel better after we punished Lord Voldemort, but I don't. It didn't bring Alex back, and that's all that really matters." Savana sobbed.

"Savana, I'm sorry. I said that without thinking." Harry apologised softly. "As you are so fond of saying; open mouth, insert foot." 

Harry had hoped this little quip would at least make Savana smile, but she was so grief stricken that she didn't even acknowledge what he had just said.

"Why did that red-eyed freak kill my brother?!...and why didn't Alex fight him...why didn't he use a counter-curse or something?! I'm so angry at them both!" Savana was beginning to babble.

Harry wasn't sure what he was hearing was correct. He could think of no reason for Savana to be angry with Alex. Harry decided to try to reason with her.

"There is no counter-curse for the three unforgivable curses...Lord Voldemort killed my parents with that curse...no one survives it." Harry told her softly.

"You did." Savana choked out through her tears.

Harry sighed. He couldn't argue with that.

A soft knocking sounded at the room's door. The door opened a crack. Madam Pomfrey poked her head in and addressed them.

"Good! You're finally awake. I have a visitor for you."

Madam Pomfrey opened the door wider and waved the visitor forward. Harry and Savana nearly died from shock when Alex entered the room. 

Savana rushed to her brother and engulfed him in a hug. 

"Alex!...but you...how did you..." Savana cried.

"Whoa there, baby sister!" Alex said with a laugh as he attempted to disentangle himself from her. "Give me half a chance and I will explain all."

Harry finally found his voice. "B-but, you were killed! How..."

Alex sat down next to his sister and launched into the tale of his rescue.

"...and...so...thanks to the efforts of Orion and Raven...here I am!" Alex told them with a grin. "I was able to thank Raven, but I haven't been able to thank Orion yet. Mom said he's visiting Professor Dumbledore at the moment...Hey! You've got another bouquet from your secret admirer...with dark pink roses yet!...could this be love?" Alex teased his sister as he reached into the flowers and withdrew a small, unsealed envelope.

"Well, lookey here! I done found a luv letter!" Alex ribbed his sister. "I best read it, soz I kin 'cide if'n it's too hot blooded fer your sweet 'lil eyes!" 

"That's mine! Give it back!" Savana demanded as she made a grab for the envelope.

But Alex nimbly dodged his sister, opened the letter and began to read it in a high-pitched, sing-song voice.

__

"Dearest Savana, Please reguard this as a warning...Alex abruptly dropped his playfull tone and his voice became serious as he continued to read..._because I care about what happens to you. I have it on good authority that the Death Eaters are furious with you (as well as the others involved) for exiling Lord Voldemort. They intend to exact retribution from all of you. Please, be careful."_

Alex's hands shook a little as he replaced the letter in its envelope. 

"Does this ever end?" He asked softly.

Harry sighed and shook his head in a negative fashion. "I think we must show this to Professor Dumbledore, as soon as possible."

"Let's get dressed and get out of here." Savana suggested.

They grabbed their clothes, quickly dressed and met again in the hall a few minutes later. From there, they went in search of Professor Dumbledore.

...`~*~`...

Draco Malfoy was in a quandary. His father had met him in Hogsmeade the day before. (Draco wondered what excuse Lucious had used with Professor Dumbledore in order to allow Draco to leave the school grounds.) Lucious had been rabid with anger. He told Draco what had transpired at Stonehenge and demanded that Draco tell him everything he knew about it.

Draco had feigned innocence and had only told his father what Professor Dumbledore had told all of the students affected by Professor Snape's absence.

"...as for Potter and his muppet friends...I don't know anything more than just rumor...I just thought they were ill...I heard someone say they were all in hospital...I had hoped it was a fatal disease." Draco had forced himself to sneer.

Actually, for the first time in his life, Draco found himself in total disagreement with his father and believed he was seeing Lucious for what he truly was; totally self-centered and interested only in power. While Draco still detested Potter and the others, Savana had caused Draco to look at this entire thing from a different point of view. That perspective caused him to question some of his father's philosophies and activities. Draco found he wasn't quite so anxious to please his father anymore. Yet, he wasn't ready to rebel against everything he had been raised to believe in, either.

Lucious had told Draco that Potter and Savana had become the top targets on the Death Eater 'hit list.'

Draco found himself in the position of wanting to forewarn Savana once again. Even if it meant warning Potter, Weasley and the other trash Savana surrounded herself with.

Once Lucious was convinced that Draco had divulged all he knew, Lucious promptly dropped Draco back at Hogwarts and went about his own business.

_"It was nice to see you too, father...so sporting of you to travel this distance just to chat and let me know how much you care...have a nice life!"_ Draco thought with anger as he walked back to the castle.

Draco felt used by his father and he resented it. The fact that he had spent his entire life trying to please Lucious, and that Lucious had given him little in return, wasn't lost on Draco. So, in a fit of rebellion, Draco decided to risk warning Savana for the second time since he had met her.

...`~*~`...

Albus Dumbledore rang up tea service for 10, to be served in his office.

"I do believe this is one of the larger groups I've met with here." He commented as he settled himself in a comfortable chair. "It is unfortunate that the circumstances which have brought us together here are so unpleasant. Now then, may the rest of us see this mysterious note?"

Alex produced the note, which Professor Dumbledore promptly read outloud to the assembled group. That group consisted of the three adult Walkers, Fleur, Alex, Harry, Savana, Hermione, and Ron.

"We must take this warning seriously." Professor Dumbledore said in a somber voice as he handed the note to Savana. "You will all be safe, as long as you remain here at Hogwarts, and it is another month until the end of term. I am sure we will be able to find ways to protect you over the summer holiday, before that time approaches."

There was a palpable decrease of tension in the room once Professor Dumbledore had said that. Savana, however, frowned in consternation. Somewhere along the way, she had forgotten about the end of term tests and she would need to do alot of catch-up studying if she even hoped to pass them.

Professor Dumbledore seemed to sense Savana's thoughts and smiled knowingly at her.

Doby and another house elf arrived with afternoon tea just then, and all conversation came to a halt while they helped themselves to some tea and warm scones. 

Savana was delighted to find a pot of aromatic coffee among the beverage choices. She poured a cup of the coffee and savored both the smell and the taste.

Orion appeared as the scent of food permeated the room. He scampered over to Alex and climbed up onto his lap. They were clearly happy to see each other.

"I wanted to thank you for putting the Stone of Morpheous into my pocket before we left here, Orion. You saved my life." Alex told his pet in a deeply heartfelt tone of voice. "Would it be O.K. with all of you if I give Orion some of my scone?"

"I believe our little hero deserves a treat, don't you?" Professor Dumbledore agreed with a smile.

There wasn't even a hint of dissent from the others, so Professor Dumbledore produced a rat sized scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam. He presented it to Orion with a small flourish.

Orion delicately plucked the treat from Professor Dumbledore's fingers. He sat back on his haunches and ate his treat with great relish.

Harry took a sip of tea before he observed; "We actually owe both Alex and Orion a debt of gratitude. If Alex hadn't made sure Orion escaped...then Orion wouldn't have bitten Lord Voldemort and turned him into a rat...we wouldn't have gotten the Staff of Time back...and Lord Voldemort would be extremely powerfull...instead of trapped in time. A toast to Alex and Orion!" 

"A toast to all of our heros!" Christina cried and raised her teacup.

"A toast to Lord Voldemort's infinite exile!" Alex said as they touched cups. 

"Here, here!" Cried the others in unison as they followed suit.

After they had drunk the toast, Gavin decided to clear up a question he had. 

"Exactly what did you do to rid us of the Dark Lord's presence and is it permanent?"

Harry and Savana began to answer Gavin's questions at the same time. Then they both stopped and looked at each other.

Savana giggled, then said, "You take it, Harry. I'd prefer to sit back and enjoy this coffee while I can."

"Ah...O.K." Harry cleared his throat, then continued with the explaination. "Merlin taught us a few spells we could use in conjuntion with the Staff of Time. One of them was the Spell of Timeless Imprisonment. That is the spell we used on Lord Voldemort. Merlin didn't say anything about how long the spell would last, so I can't answer the second part of your question."

"What did that spell do to Lord Voldemort?" Fiona asked.

"It trapped him in a dimension where time, at least as we know it, does not exist. It was quite ingenius of you to use that particular spell...yes...quite clever indeed." Professor Dumbledore nodded his head in approval as he said this. "I can also answer the second part of your question. Lord Voldemort will be trapped there for infinity..."

"Yes! That's brilliant!" Ron crowed.

Ron suddenly realised he had interrupted Professor Dumbledore. "Ummm...I'm sorry."

Professor Dumbledore smiled and said, "Your excitement is quite understandable. However, as I was saying, it is possible for someone to release Lord Voldemort from the spell. Long ago, I recall learning that Merlin had provided an 'escape clause' for every spell that he employed."

"I remember reading that same thing while we were researching the Staff of Time." Hermione informed them. "Merlin provided those so he, or anyone he deemed worthy, could be released if the spells were used against his allies, or against him."

Professor Dumbledore resumed his narrative. "Quite right, Hermione. I took the liberty of researching the Staff of Time, as well as the spells which could be cast with it. If I recall the information correctly, Merlin provided one method of releasing the Spell of Timeless Imprisonment and Morgain LeFey created another. You see, she feared Merlin would use the spell against her. Merlin's method was a counter spell which could only be cast using the Staff of Time..."

"Whoa! That's why he made us learn three different spells!" Savana cried in amazement with her epiphany. "Merlin taught us 3 spells: the first was to be used to travel in time; the second was the Spell for Timeless Imprisonment; and the third was the spell to release the Spell for Timeless Imprisonment. At that time, I couldn't understand why we needed to learn the third spell. Now I get it! Merlin was afraid the spell would be used against us!"

Professor Dumbledore nodded, then picked up the thread of his narrative. "Only a very limited number of wizards and witches are able to use the Staff of Time, however. One must also have the staff in their possession in order to cast that spell. Therefore, Morgain LeFey created a talisman which would accomplish the same thing. This talisman, however, could be used by anyone with the knowlege to do so. Merlin saw this as a threat to his power, so he had the talisman broken into pieces. He then hid the pieces in distant geographical areas where they would be impossible to find and reunite. Most of the information on the talisman is obscure, or lost to us entirely. Thus, it does not pose a threat. The Staff of Time, however, represents a clear and present danger to us. One which must be dealt with, permanently. It is not inconcievable for the Death Eaters to find someone who can use the Staff of Time and for them to steal it for that purpose. We can protect the staff here, at Hogwarts, for a short time. The only way to permanently rid ourselves of the danger it poses, however, is to return the staff to its guardians on the island of Avalon."

"So why screw around with keeping the Staff of Time here. If it's that dangerous, we should take it to Avalon now and be done with it." Savana reasoned outloud.

"It's not that simple, Savana." Harry cautioned her. "The location of Avalon is not known and much of the information is shrouded in myth and legend. We must discover where Avalon is located before we can go there."

"Christina, Gavin and I could begin researching the topic." Fiona volunteered. "You have tests to study for and school work to do."

"That's a good idea. I would just as soon do something useful, since we need to stay here until it is safe to return home." Christina added.

The discussion then turned to other topics, but Savana was left wondering if she would ever be allowed to return to her American home and school.

...`~*~`...

Two days before the end of term, Savana learned the answer to one of the minor mysteries which had occasionally occupied her mind during the past year.

Savana had been searching for a book in the library stacks when she overheard her name hissed in a malicious tone of voice by someone on the other side of the book shelves near where she stood.

Savana stealthily removed a book from the shelf in front of her and peeked through the space she had created to see who was talking about her. Savana could see enough of Pansy Parkinson's face to identify her as the speaker. The identity of the other girl, however, was a mystery. The girl's back was to Savana and she remained in that position. 

Savana was not ashamed to listen to as much of Pansy's tirade as she could. _"It is my name Pansy is dragging through the mud. I should know what she's saying about me."_

Savana reasoned.

"...and she told me that Draco has been sending that Yank tramp love poems and flowers!" Pansy fumed with self-rightous indignation.

"I've suspected she had her sights set on Draco from the beginning...she's constantly throwing herself at him!" The other girl asserted in agreement.

_"I am not!"_ Savana thought indignantly. _"What planet are you two vixens from, anyway?!"_

Savana fought the urge to shout insults at them.

Pansy was speaking again. "You saw the way she was throwing herself at poor Draco during the spring formal?! I wanted to turn Savana into the warty, little toad that she is!"

Pansy acted as though she had been greatly injured by Savana's behavior at this point and the other girl patted Pansy on the shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

_"I only had a few dances with Draco that night, and he asked me, not the other way around." _Savana fumed. _"He needed to do something to get away from you, dog face. You were smothering him!"_

"I must do something to protect my sweety from her...who knows what she'll do to get his attention over the summer?!" Pansy whined piteously.

"I think you should tell Draco's parents about her. I heard they detest that girl, so I'm sure they'll support you." The girl viciously suggested.

"That's a brilliant idea! I'll do that as soon as we get home!" Pansy replied enthusiastically. "Do you know what else I heard about her?" Pansy asked in a conspirital tone of voice as they found the book they'd been looking for and began to walk away. "I heard the Death Eaters want her head because..."

Savana replaced the book on the shelf as tears welled up in her eyes. _"I can't stand that mental midget and her cronies. I should have dropped that entire shelve of books on their heads!"_

Savana did some deep breathing exercises to calm herself. Once shee had reached a reasonable approximation of that state, she thought about the first portion of what Pansy had said.

_"So, Draco Malfoy is the secret admirer who has put himself at risk to warn me. This is an interesting turn of events."_ Savana thought.

Savana didn't find the situation amusing, as Harry or the others might have. She had actually grown to like and respect Draco, as she had gotten to know him better. Draco had even become comfortable enough with her to tell jokes during potions lab.

Savana was very aware of the tension between Draco and her friends here. Therefore, she had never discussed her feelings about him with any of them.

_"Now that I know him better, I could see myself going out with Draco."_ She thought. _"Maybe that's why Professor Snape keeps putting us together as lab partners."_

Savana's musings then settled upon Pansy's idea to blab about Savana to Draco's parents. She saw how dangerous that plot would be to Draco.

_"Turn about is fair play."_ Savana thought with a smile. _"I'll just send Draco a little warning. That way, he'll at least know what Pansy's up to before it all comes crashing down on his head."_

A short time later, Savana had composed a note and decided on a method of delivery. The note she had composed read: 

_"Draco, I overheard Pansy Parkinson plotting to tell your parents that _

you and I are romantically involved. She intends to do this as soon

as she arrives home. I know this would cause you no end of trouble

with your parents. I hope that by forewarning you, you will be able 

to defuse the situation, somehow. I care about you and wish you

the best of luck. Yours, Savana"

Savana had decided to deliver the note inside a box of Draco's favorite cookies. She had decided to ask Professor Snape to deliver the cookies. Savana suspected Professor Snape was aware of Draco's feelings toward Savana. Therefore, he might be sympathetic to her cause. If it turned out that was not the case...well...Savana was not above a bit of blackmail. She only need mention aunt Christina's diaries and let Professor Snape choose as he might.

Savana wore a smile as she enclosed her note in the package and set about putting her plan in motion.

...`~*~`...

A few days later, Savana stood out by the Hogwart's Express with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The train was loading with students who were heading home for the summer holiday. Ron, Harry and Hermione would be riding the train to their respective families and homes. Savana and the Walkers, however, would remain at Hogwarts a bit longer.

Professor Dumbledore, with the help of several other wizards and witches, had nearly completed the layering of several spells and enchantments upon the Walker estate. Most of the repairs on the property had also been completed.

The down side of all of this was that none of the Walkers would be able to return to the U.S.A. anytime soon. There, they would be exposed there to the threats of the Death Eaters and their agents. Since the Walkers were no longer anonymous, they could no longer blend in, as they had done before.

Savana had begun to fear she would never see her friends and schoolmates again.

There was some good to be found in the situation, however. Harry, and possibly Ron and Hermione as well, would be spending most of the summer at the Walker estate, since it would be a protected place.

"Your father told me I could come to the estate at the beginning of July." Harry told Savana and the others with a smile. "The less time I spend at the Dursley's, the better for all concerned, especially me."

Hermione smiled, then said, "Good, then perhaps you'll have a proper birthday celebration this year. Savana, I do hope my parents will allow me to come and stay for awhile. The note from Professor Dumbledore should help to convince them to let me visit."

"Even though Alex won't be there?" Savana teased her friend. "I'm really going to miss him, but mom and dad won't let me go with...Professor Dumbledore thinks it would be too dangerous."

Savana looked around them, to make sure no one was within hearing range before she finished her thought.

"The only reason Alex gets to go to Avalon is because everyone thinks he's still dead."

"I've noticed that he's been in hiding since Raven brought him back." Ron commented.

Professor Dumbledore and the adults had decided it would be best for Alex to bring the Staff of Time to Avalon. Very few people knew Alex had not been killed at Stonehenge, and those who did had all been sworn to secrecy. 

Professor Dumbledore had kept Alex hidden with Sirius Black since Alex's recovery.

Orion had gone with Alex. He had chosen to remain with his friend.

Raven would be accompanying Alex. His cover story as a Death Eater remained intact. They all felt that fact would be a definate advantage to Alex, as well as to the mission.

Ron grinned as he said, "On a brighter note, my parents said I can come visit too. Actually, with the Death Eaters up to who knows what mischief, dad said he'd be more comfortable with me at your place anyway. It being protected and all."

"Perhaps Ginny should come along with you." Savana suggested. "If your parents are that concerned for your safety...Ginny could be affected as well. I'm sure it would be fine with my aunt and parents...and we certainly have the room..."

The train whistle bew to hurry the straglers along.

Savana hugged her friends and waved 'farewell' as Ron, Hermione, and Harry boarded the train.

After the three had settled in a compartment, Harry stared out the window and mused about the past, as well as the future.

Harry knew his relatives would not appreciate his return to them, especially if Uncle Vernon was still out of work. They would probably ship him off to the Walker estate as soon as they were able to. That was more than fine with Harry. He could see only one possible negative complication with the entire plan, Professor Snape.

Professor Snape had renewed his relationship with Christina Walker. Which meant he would be a frequent visitor to the Walker estate this summer.

_"If all else fails...I shouldn't have too much trouble staying out of Professor Snape's way...It is a large estate,after all."_ Harry reasoned.

Harry knew he should feel relatively safe, now that they had trapped Lord Voldemort. He didn't though. Harry had a niggling worm of worry buried deep inside of his gut.

_"All is not well!"_ It whispered to him.

Harry knew the feeling was not directly related to the Death Eaters. They certainly presented a threat to him which could not be ignored. However, it was blunted significantly without Lord Voldemort to unite their forces. 

Many of the Death Eaters had gone underground again. Just as they had done when Harry had first driven the Dark Lord away. The Ministry was actively prosecuting those Death Eaters that it was able to. Rumor had it that some had already been sent to Azkaban prison.

The feeling was not related to the Staff of Time, either. Harry had the utmost faith in the abilities of Alex and Raven to bring the staff safely to Avalon.

Harry suspected the feeling was warning him about something which was infinately more obscure; Morgain's talisman.

_"Could the Death Eaters find the pieces, reunite them and release Lord Voldemort from the spell we used to imprison him?" _Harry wondered. _"Nah! Professor Dumbledore said that was impossible!"_

Harry turned his attention toward a conversation with his friends.

Deep within the shadowed recesses of Harry's mind, though, the doubt persisted. It whispered to him in his dreams. Could it be possible for someone to bring Lord Voldemort back to this world?

1. Muppet: A Brittish slang term for fool.

2. Tempus Fugit: A Latin phrase which translates as: time flees, or flies.

"That's all there is, there ain't no more;

Harry got the apple, Voldemort the core."


	26. Epilogue

(A/N Harry Potter and Co., do not belong to me. Ok, I know I told you I was finished with this story. I discovered a couple of days after the last chapter was out, however, that I had forgotten to include a piece of the endstory. I couldn't resist adding it, so, here it is. ^-^)

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

Epilogue

It was a quiet summer day at the Weasley household, when Ron recieved a gift which could change his life.

The majority of the Weasley family were occupied with various household chores. Ron and the twins had drawn the dubious honor of de-gnoming the garden.

Ron paused after removing a particularly nasty family of garden gnomes. He wiped beads of sweat off his brow and wondered when he'd be able to join Harry and Hermione at Savana's estate. 

_"...then I can enjoy myself and have some fun, instead of doing all of these chores! I hope she sends for me, soon!"_

Ron was about to begin working again when Errol, their old owl, crashed down next to Ron. Errol looked at Ron expectantly. Ron untied a small package from Errol's leg.

_"Who could be sending me a package?" _He wondered.

Ron carefully unwrapped the package and Errol flew off to get some well earned rest.

Inside of the wrapping was a darkly tinted plastic case, with air holes and a removable lid. Ron noticed a letter addressed to him underneath and debated which one to open first.

Curiosity got the better of him and Ron carefully lifted the lid off of the container. He peeked inside, then quickly slammed the lid back in place and screamed!

Moments later, the entire Weasley family surrounded Ron.

"What happened?! That shout was enough to raise the dead from their graves!" Fred asked after he had jogged over.

"Yeah!" Agreed George. "On the bright side, however, the garden gnomes just went running for the hills!" 

Ron mutely pointed to the container sitting innocently atop the letter on the ground.

Ginny carefully opened the container and looked inside.

"Aw-w-w-w...did my big brother scare you?" She asked as she gently reached into the box and removed its occupant.

Fred and George grinned when they saw the large, furry spider which Ginny held in her cupped hand. Ron simply turned a shade whiter and remained frozen where he sat.

"Whoa! He's amazing! Who sent him to you?" Fred said as he tried to take the spider from his sister.

"Someone who wants to be Ron's enemy for life, I'll wager." George chuckled as he retrieved the letter. "Let's find out who sent it."

"George! That letter was meant for Ron, not you, or any of us! Give the letter to Ron, now!" Mrs. Weasly scolded her son.

George reluctantly handed the letter back to Ron. 

Ron tenatively opened the letter and read its contents.

__

Ron, This is Igore. He is a dear friend of mine, whom I will be unable

to take care of for quite awhile. I was hopeing you would care

for him in my absence.

This in not a prank. I am aware of your feelings concerning spiders. 

I had similar feelings for arachnids before I made Igore's aquaintence,

which is why I sent him to you. It is my hope that Igore will help you,

as he has helped me.

Igore is from the desert in the Southwestern United States. So, he 

likes a warm, dry, sandy environment. He also likes a dark, cave-like

hidey-hole where he can relax when he wants to be alone...

The letter went on to explain what Igore liked to eat; how often to feed him; etc. It was signed: _Sir A of the Quest._

"Alex?!" Ron thought.

"Well, who sent it to you?" Ron's father interupted his thoughts.

Ron quickly thought up a cover story. After all, it wouldn't do to let his family know that Alex was still alive...not just yet, anyway.

"Savana Walker. She said Igore, that's the spider's name, wasn't getting along with Orion and Mariah. She thought he might be happier with me..."

"Where would she get an idea like that?! Doesn't she know how you feel about spiders?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"It's not exactly something I advertise, mum!" Ron grumbled.

Ron folded the letter and put it in his pocket. Then he looked at Igore, who now sat in Mr. Weasley's hand.

The spider was covered in black fur with red stripes. It more closely resembled a fuzzy toy than the large, venomous arachnid it actually was. It made no aggressive moves, however, and Alex had said Igore wouldn't bite unless he was frightened. Ron relaxed a bit.

The tarantula studied Ron with its multiple black eyes. Then he tenatively moved the furry feelers near his mouth in a waving motion.

"If you don't want Igore, I'll be happy to take him." Ginny volunteered.

"No, Savana sent him to me!" Ron told his sister.

_"Alex sent you to help me, like you helped him." _Ron thought as he timidly extended a curious finger toward Igore's back. Ron's terror of arachnids disapated a bit with that first contact. Igore remained respectfully motionless and non-threatening.

_"That wasn't so bad...perhaps Alex's idea has some merit to it...only time will tell." _Ron thought as he studied Igore once again.

Igore waved his front legs and feelers in a comical fashion. He sensed Ron had accepted him and he had a new home.


End file.
